Fairytales do not exist, especially when it comes to Arsene Wenger and his precious Arsenal Football Club. Wenger had professed ahead of the Europa League sem-final against Atletico Madrid that he “would like to finish this love affair well”, preferably with the elusive European trophy that he had never managed to get his hands on during his 22 years at the north London club.
Wenger did come close to a European title, when his carefully-crafted Arsenal side lost to Barcelona in the Champions League finals more than a decade ago, but his tryst with the younger sibling of Europe’s premier cup competition has been short and painful. Atletico Madrid, the consummate professionals which they are, did not stick in the knife and twist it, but instead put in a solid performance – the kind which Wenger’s teams could never pull off in recent seasons. Arsenal were eliminated from the Europa League with an aggregate of 1-2 after the second leg finished 1-0 in favour of the Spanish club.
Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey is dejected after exit from the Europa League semi-final following a loss to Atletico Madrid. Reuters
For the manager who has vouched for stability at Arsenal throughout his managerial reign, Wenger will leave the club in a gulf of uncertainty – without a manager and Champions League football next season. The evening in Madrid did not begin as one of gloom and doom for the Arsenal supporters – the Gunners started the match in a confident fashion, holding their own against a physically aggressive Atletico Madrid, while Diego Simeone looked on from the stands.
Things started to go awry for the visitors as early as the seventh minute as skipper Laurent Koscielny went down holding his ankle, in what would later turn out to be a ruptured Achilles tendon (an injury which has likely jeopardised his upcoming World Cup aspirations with France). The Arsenal skipper might have been at fault for Antoine Griezmann’s late equaliser in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, but there is no doubting the Frenchman’s leadership qualities – his early departure resulted in a void which Jack Wilshere could not fill despite his best efforts.
Denying Atletico Madrid legitimate goalscoring chances would have been the first step in beating Simeone’s side at the Wanda Metropolitano, but the odds were stacked against Arsenal, for the English club has only managed to keep four clean sheets in all competitions since the turn of the year. Wenger opting for David Ospina instead of experienced campaigner Petr Cech under the bar was yet another baffling move.
Griezmann picked up right from where he had finished in the first leg – his combination play with Diego Costa leading to swift, stylish attacking moves which left the Gunners' defence scrambling to contend with the two Atletico forwards.
The game's solitary goal came in the stoppage time of the first half courtesy Arsenal’s notorious nemesis Costa. Griezmann collected the ball 30 yards from Ospina's goal and with a pass across the field, found Costa, dissecting the entire Arsenal backline through a simple turn and pass. Costa, who found himself in space, due to Hector Bellerin's positional error, ably shielded the ball from the Gunners right back to slot it past an approaching Ospina.
Bellerin’s mistake was classic Arsenal – not a lack of intent but a faulty temperament, while Costa's finish ought to have reminded Gunners fans of the former-Chelsea forward's onslaughts against their club. The Atletico midfield was unyielding all through, harrying the likes of Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey off the ball, putting in strong challenges and even getting away with some of the rougher tackles, much to Arsenal’s chagrin.
Arsenal needed a miraculous recovery in the second half, but even Henrikh Mkhitaryan's introduction could not salvage the Gunners' season, although Mesut Ozil played a prominent role in creating a number of chances, especially through the overlapping Bellerin on the right flank. Alexandre Lacazette put in a catastrophic performance in arguably the most crucial game of Arsenal’s season.
Atletico's 12th consecutive clean sheet in their new home ruined Wenger’s aspirations for one final silverware. “I am like the team – very sad and very disappointed. I’m very, very sad to leave the club with that exit. I will take some time to recover from this. The game can be very cruel; sometimes it is very nice. But the suffering is very strong tonight,” a pensive Wenger told reporters after the game, his words reflecting the melancholic nature of Wenger’s inevitable end to his Arsenal career.
Updated Date: May 04, 2018 12:04 PM
