UEL: AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal

Henrikh Mkhitaryan get off the mark for Arsenal

Arsenal eased the pressure on Arsene Wenger with an impressive 2-0 first-leg victory at AC Milan in the Europa League last 16, ending a four-game losing streak in the process.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's deflected strike put the Gunners ahead and their advantage was doubled when Aaron Ramsey rounded the goalkeeper before tapping in on the stroke of half-time.

Mesut Ozil set up both strikes, with Armenian forward Mkhitaryan tucking away the German's pass in the 15th minute before Ramsey put the seal on a fine move as he danced round Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Milan's Giacomo Bonaventura was a persistent danger early in the second half as Arsenal weathered the storm, but as the hosts ran out of ideas it was in the end a convincing victory for the much-maligned Premier League side.

Arsenal's best and perhaps only hope of Champions League football next season is via the Europa League and they have one foot in the last eight with a 2-0 lead to take back to north London, a result which ends a run of four consecutive defeats.

Ramsey told BT Sport 2: "We started well. We showed that we have plenty of characters in this team. It is never easy to come to San Siro and play AC Milan. I know from past experience - we came here and lost 4-0. I'm really pleased to win tonight.

"I thought we played very well in the first half, we created many opportunities, we moved the ball well and kept a clean sheet which is important. So all in all a good night's work.

"We've been on a bad run and sometimes as hard as you try on the pitch, it doesn't seem to work. We tried to do the right things, we know what we are capable of doing in the dressing room.

"A lot of people are always going to talk. It's important for us to always keep focused, try and improve. We know what we are capable of doing, we just have to try and produce that more consistently. It's nice to turn a corner and come here and get a good result."

Also in Thursday's early games, Atletico Madrid outclassed Lokomotiv Moscow to win 3-0, Lyon earned a 1-0 victory at CSKA while Dortmund were beaten 2-1 at home by Red Bull Salzburg.

Diego Costa was among the scorers as Atletico confirmed their status as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, while it was a brace from Valon Berisha which put Salzburg in command in Germany before Andre Schurrle got the hosts back in it.

Dortmund dominated the final quarter of the game but the visitors, who were a persistent threat, did enough to earn a vital lead.