Arsenal familiarize themselves with disappointment in 2-1 loss to ATM

It must be really tough to be an Arsenal fan. The English club went into the match with an aim to score one goal and prevent Atletico Madrid from scoring. That’s all they needed, one goal unlike teams like AS Roma who needed about 5 goals to turn the tie. Wenger used the same team that played against Atletico Madrid last week which meant that Mkhitaryan could only afford a place on the bench. Diego Simeone shacked things up a bit as he trusted his most versatile player, Thomas Partey, in right back as opposed to his usual midfield role. The Ghanaian defensive midfielder has been one of the standout players in both ties against Arsenal. He was trusted to cover at right back in the last stages of the first leg clash and that performance was enough to convince Simeone to trust him in that position once more. Arsenal failed to score a goal in the first half thanks to his interceptions and blocks which prevented the gunners from whipping in dangerous crosses from the right. It was in the 45th minute that Partey’s teammate, Diego Costa scored the goal to give the advantage to Atletico Madrid. The second half was even better by the English side as they tried to instigate attacks but the Ghanaian player blocked most of those attempts by intercepting crucial passes by Ozil, Ramsey, Monreal, and Xhaka on the right. Even when Mkhitaryan was called upon the pitch to replace Wilshere, Arsenal never produced enough to worry his defense. The few opportunities created by Ozil went begging as there was no one in the right spot to parry it home. Godin took most of the shine as well for clearing these useless attempts.

This match was meant to be a memorable night for Wenger in his last away match in European competition as Arsenal boss. He was seen squatting near the touchline from the 85th minute but his team could not produce a result. Much credit to Partey and his manager Simeone who coached his team from the stands. He prepared the team for this fight and they succeeded in knocking out Arsenal out of the UEFA Europa tournament. Simeone is on to the final. Maybe if he is announced as the next Arsenal boss, he should bring the African player to Arsenal and solve the defensive problems they have been having since Patrick Vieira left in July 2005. These disappointing results from a team with a weak mentality is what the new coach will have to deal with. What a tough ask!

Aubameyang makes Arsenal good as they win 4-1 against West Ham

The game against West Ham saw Wenger make changes to his team ahead of the semifinal clash against Atletico Madrid in the coming week. Ozil, Wilshere and Cech were not in the team while Aubameyang was dropped to the bench despite his red-hot form since joining Arsenal in the winter transfer window. Wenger planned to boost the confidence of Lacazette who will be the striker in the UEFA Europa League since Aubameyang is cup-tied. The match had nothing to appease the many Arsenal fans who returned to their seats in the stadium after having protested against the performances in recent games.

On this day, the fans were there and backed their manager who is set to leave in the summer. They did not stop cheering their team even when they went into the break without a goal. Nacho Monreal who has arguably been Arsenal’s best player this season opened the scoring from Xhaka’s corner on the 51st minute with a half-volley. His finish was something that even strikers can look back to and learn a few things. West Ham boss, David Moyes responded by introducing Lanzini and Javier Hernandez to support the striker Arnautovic. It was not long before these changes paid dividends as Arnautovic control the ball with his left leg and fired a shot across goal and into the net after Arsenal had failed to clear the ball out. 1-1 was the scoreline when Aubameyang was called onto the pitch.

The team started to believe with their star man on the pitch as they began to create spaces for forwards to capitalise on. It was not long before Aubameyang caused confusion in West Ham’s box just by his presence as Aaron Ramsey’s cross flew straight into the net. The Gabon international then turned provider to Lacazette’s goal in the 85th minute after some slick passes by Arsenal. Lacazette scored his second of the night 4 minutes after from a pass by Ramsey, and he celebrated with his strike partner Aubameyang. The pair already calls themselves The Bad Boys which draws a comparison to the relationship between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in their classic movies from the 1990s and early 2000s. Will this relationship help bring Arsenal more success after Wenger leaves?