A Nicolas Pépé penalty gave Arsenal a lifeline despite losing 2-1 in their clash against Villarreal in the Europa League Semi Final at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Thursday night.
Both sides finished the game with 10 men as Ceballos and Capoue saw red in the second half.
Arteta sprung a surprise in his starting line-up with Smith Rowe leading the line as Ødegaard came in for Nketiah.
The Gunners got off to an awful start wit Trigueros putting the home side 1-0 up in 5 minutes. Foyth drove forward as Ceballos struggled to keep pace, playing the ball to Chukwueze. The Villarreal man dribbled into the box, skipping past Ceballos and Xhaka with the ball rolling to Trigueros who struck the ball into the net.
It went from bad to worse for Arsenal 29 minutes in as Albiol tapped in following a Moreno flick on from a corner to make it 2-0 to the Spanish side.
4 minutes later Xhaka picked out Pépé over the top as the Ivorian drove into the penalty area before being tripped by Foyth. The referee pointed to the spot, but VAR correctly overturned the decision as the ball struck Pépé’s outstretched arm when controlling the long ball.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Ceballos picked up a second yellow, leaving Arsenal 2-0 down with 10 men and over half an hour still to play. The first yellow came as Ceballos cynically brought down Foyth after being beaten for pace late in the first half. The second yellow came as Ceballos stepped on Parejo’s boot. It was a soft yellow, but Arsenal can have no complaints as Ceballos had been threatening another yellow card challenge for a while.
In the 65th minute, Villarreal sprung forward once again with Coquelin carrying the ball and finding Moreno unmarked in the penalty area. Moreno turned and shot but Leno was equal to it, making a big save to keep the tie within reach.
As he has done for much of this season, Saka gave Arsenal a lifeline. Smith Rowe rolled the ball to Saka on the edge of the box and the youngster began one of his slalom dribbles attracting 4 Villarreal players. The goal scorer Trigueros clipped Saka, giving Arsenal a penalty. Pépé stepped up to the spot and coolly struck the ball down the middle to give Arsenal a crucial away goal.
In the 76th minute, Saka once again caused Villarreal trouble, turning with the ball and showing quick feet to shift it past the onrushing Capoue. The Villarreal midfielder clattered into Saka, picking up a second yellow which saw both sides down to 10 men.
It was a cagey ending to the game with neither side creating many chances nor taking many risks. Arsenal were able to craft one last chance in the 93rd minute as Partey slid the ball to Aubameyang. The Arsenal striker was able to turn and get a shot on goal but slipped in the process, making it a relatively easy stop for the goalkeeper.
It was a poor performance from Arsenal, giving away two easy goals and struggling to create many clear-cut chances. Yet the tie is still firmly in the balance with Pépé’s penalty giving the Gunners a crucial away goal to take back to London.
The Smith Rowe false-nine experiment did not work, and it highlights a potential concern of Arteta overthinking his decisions. The Arsenal manager was limited in his options but a more natural centre forward like Martinelli may have been more effective in a game of this magnitude.
Two weeks ago I raised the question: is Partey better off without Xhaka in midfield? Beyond this summer I believe the answer is yes, but after Ceballos’ performance last night, Xhaka is needed in midfield until the end of this season. With Tierney potentially available for the second leg, moving Xhaka back to his natural position should provide instant improvement at both left back and central midfield.
Ceballos began the game well, controlling the play and feeding the ball to Pépé in dangerous areas. But as his influence began to fade, his flaws were exposed. Juan Foyth, a centre back playing out of position at right back, continually had the beating of Ceballos for pace and strength, resulting in Ceballos giving away several fouls and picking up his first yellow card.
With Xhaka’s pace also causing Arsenal issues this season, if Partey is better off without Xhaka long term, a mobile, physical central midfielder seems an obvious option.
The positive takeaways were: Pépé’s directness, Leno’s important saves, and Aubameyang’s return. Pépé playing on the left forces him to make decisions quicker which speeds up Arsenal’s play. After a difficult month or two, Leno looked like his former self, making a couple of crucial saves to keep Arsenal in the tie. Aubameyang made his return, after having malaria, getting 10 minutes off the bench where he looked sharper than he has done in the past couple of months.
A calamitous Bernd Leno error saw Arsenal fall to a 1-0 defeat to Everton at the Emirates last Friday, ending any hope of the Gunners qualifying for Europe through the league.
Arteta fielded a relatively strong team, in the absence of Tierney, Aubameyang and Lacazette, opting for Nketiah over Martinelli to lead the line.
It was a game where chances were few and far between as Arsenal looked like a team who had given up on the league.
Saka had a presentable chance on the half volley in the box, Richarlison had a strike saved by Leno, and Sigurðsson hit the bar with a free kick from 30 yards. Arsenal’s best chance fell to Calum Chambers on the volley from a corner, which the defender hit over. But none of these chances ever looked like hitting the back of the net.
Everton’s goal came in the 76th minute in bizarre fashion. Richarlison skipped past a weak Xhaka challenge on the edge of the box, with the Everton forward then playing a low cross. Leno went to scoop the ball up, misjudging it as it struck his leg and rolled into the net. A horrible moment for Leno who has struggled over recent months.
Richarlison 1-0
Arsenal once again had a penalty ruled out, as they did the week prior against Fulham, for a marginal offside in the build-up. It feels like so many games this season have hinged on a marginal VAR decision and it is clear that has taken a toll on the players.
At the end of the day Arsenal need to be better so as to avoid situations where VAR can go against them.
With little to play for in the league now, Arteta needs to find a balance of managing players for the Europa League and giving minutes to younger players like Martinelli.
Arsenal travel up north to play Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday at 2pm. Both sides have been inconsistent as of late, but Arsenal have had the upper hand in each of the last 5 meetings. With both teams having little to play for, it is difficult to see this game being a thriller.
On Thursday Arsenal welcome Villarreal to the Emirates for the second leg of the Europa League Semi Final at 8pm. Arsenal are one game away from the Europa League Final and find themselves needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit. Arteta will hope to welcome Tierney and Aubameyang back into the starting line-up to give the Gunners a boost. Clean sheets have been hard to come by recently so it will likely take 3 goals to take Arsenal through, a task that they are capable of.
Predictions:
Newcastle 1 – 1 Arsenal
Arsenal 3 – 1 Villarreal after extra time
Adam Perry 30/04/2021