Battle of the Struggling

The UEFA Europa League clash between Arsenal and AC Milan on Thursday evening represented the battle of two teams that have pretty much been poor over the course of the season so far. AC Milan, much like Arsenal, has been a giant in their country Italy and their fans have a lot of expectations for the club that used to deliver titles when they had players like Seedorf, Pirlo, Maldini and current coach Genaro Gattuso. Gattuso’s team invested in young players like Andre Silva, Hakan Cahlanoglu, Rodriguez, Bonucci among others who were sought after by big clubs in Europe last summer. To the fans’ disappointment, the club has been underperforming regardless of who plays. The same can be said about the Arsenal side that took pride in beating poor AC Milan 2-0 in the San Siro. It was arguably a miracle for the team to turn up against their counterparts whom they lost 4-0 during the days of Robin van Persie. Last night, Mkhitaryan justified his switch to Arsenal with the opening goal less than 15 minutes into the game. Ramsey scored the other right on the stroke of halftime but all credit must go to Mesut Ozil who was bossing the game in midfield as he assisted both goals. This result does not fool the Arsenal faithful though because they face a mountain to climb if they keep progress in this tournament which is their only hope of UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.