Rangers boss Steven Gerrard 'really proud' of Arsenal 'before, during and after' thrashing of Slavia Prague in Europa League

Steven Gerrard said he 'loved everything' about Arsenal's Europa League thumping of Slavia Prague on Thursday night.

The Gunners booked their place in the semi-finals as they blitzed their Czech opponents 4-0, winning their quarter-final tie 5-1 on aggregate.

What happened before the match was a huge talking point as the Arsenal players took a knee and Alexandre Lacazette stared down the Slavia players, who opted to remain standing.

Slavia's victory over Rangers in the last round was marred by an incident where Glen Kamara accused Ondrej Kudela of racially abusing him. Kudela was found guilty of the offence and handed a ten-match ban on Wednesday.

The Rangers boss said he was 'really proud' of Arsenal's 'sensational performance' and heaped huge praise on the north London side for their conduct throughout the tie.

Speaking in his press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: "I loved everything about the game.

"I loved Arsenal's performance, I loved the way they went about it.

"I admired how they approached before the game, during the game and after the game. I'm sure Glen did as well.

"I was really proud watching Arsenal's performance, everything about it.

"I thought the way they prepared for the game, the way the manager spoke, the way the players behaved before, during and after and then to back it up with that level of performance.

"I sat there and really enjoyed that game, I thought it was a sensational performance."