Former Serie A coach Giuseppe Pillon believes Arsenal’s experience of playing at the top level regularly came to the forefront on Thursday night against a relatively inexperienced AC Milan side.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave the away side an early lead at the San Siro and Arsenal doubled their lead when Aaron Ramsey found the back of the net in the dying seconds of the first half.
The Rossoneri tried getting their foot back in the Europa League last 16 tie in the second half, but Arsenal managed to keep a clean sheet and carried two away goals to the home leg next week at the Emirates.
AC Milan had not lost a game since December before Thursday night and had an excellent defensive record, but Pillon admits that they struggled against an Arsenal side who came out of their shackles and played well.
He believes the Gunners’ experience of playing at the top level of European football was evident with the way they played, while AC Milan looked relative greenhorns despite their history in Europe.
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Pillon told RMC Sport: “Milan faced a lot of difficulties against an Arsenal side that played very well.
“Yes [Milan’s lack of experience showed], because you could see they have the habit of playing at the top level, while Milan have to go a long way to compete at these levels.
“One must be experienced enough to win as Juventus demonstrated [against Tottenham].”
Arsenal will look to get their league season back on track this weekend when they host Watford.
