The Gunners advanced in the European competition with a nervy finish at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki
Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has described Thursday’s 3-2 victory over Benfica as a hard result which will boost the team’s confidence in the remaining games of the season.
The Gabonese captain scored a goal in each half of the encounter which helped the Gunners progress to the Round of 16 of the Uefa Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate win.
After he opened the scoring at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, Aubameyang grabbed the match-winning goal three minutes from full-time as Mikel Arteta’s side escaped elimination via away goals.
When asked to rate the team’s overall performance, Aubameyang told the club website: "Solid! I have to tell the truth! It was a hard one, but at the end I think we deserved it because we showed great character tonight, all the team and the guys that came in as well. They gave so much for the comeback and we did it, so we are so happy!
"It’s hard because when you concede one, it’s okay, but then when you concede a second one, you know that you have to score two goals again, so it’s really hard, but as I said, we showed character and we kept calm during the whole match. We scored in the last minute and we are happy.
"It could be very good [for the rest of the campaign]. I think in this difficult season, hopefully this will give us some hope, but also some confidence for the future that we can do comebacks like this."
Meanwhile, Arteta expressed his total confidence in Aubameyang, who has scored 13 goals in all competitions so far this campaign.
“I completely trust him because we produced the chances and you know with Auba that when he has chances, he is going to score goals,” he told the same publication.
“The last few days after the game in Rome against them, he missed three opportunities that are normally three goals for him, and he needed to react and it's great to see that the way he reacted is by being upset and trying to be better and not just feeling sad for himself in this moment. I am really pleased with how he did tonight.”
Aubameyang will be hoping to continue his goalscoring form when Arsenal visit Leicester City for Sunday’s Premier League clash.