COSTA ENDS WENGER’S FINAL TILT
Arsenal are knocked out by a familiar foe
Diego Costa appears at the doorway of the Atletico Madrid dressing room an hour before kick-off. ‘Lads,’ he announces with a big grin. ‘it’s Arsenal.’
Well, he probably didn’t, but he could have. it was one of those nights, those Arsenal nights in europe. glimpses of potential but ultimately defeat and disappointment.
At the final whistle the players slumped to the ground, crushed. Yet in reality, Atletico goalkeeper Jan oblak made one save, from a shot by defensive midfield player granit Xhaka.
it was not as if Arsenal were unfortunate or expended every last drop of energy. They were still Arsenal. They always wanted one extra touch before crossing, they were always half a yard short of getting a toe to it in the six-yard box. They were just over, they were just wide — they were just Arsenal.
So, Arsene Wenger will not get a glorious send-off in a cup final in his native France. He will not get the swing at an elusive european trophy his legacy deserves. He will bow out at Huddersfield Town, marshalling a team we now know will not be playing in the Champions League next season.
Thursday night football is his bequest to his successor. That and a giant rebuilding job which will be undertaken without club captain Laurent Koscielny in its initial stages, if his Achilles injury, sustained early on here, is as bad as feared.
As for Costa, he was what you expected, too — the match-winner with a goal in first-half stoppage time and a threatening, brooding presence throughout.
He was booked for a clash with Shkodran Mustafi 15 minutes before the end, which must have been the most widely anticipated explosion of yellow since Vincent van gogh woke up one morning and announced those sunflowers looked pretty.
Still, if Arsenal had a few like Costa, maybe they wouldn’t be in this predicament. Maybe Wenger would have got his farewell in Lyon, not west Yorkshire, or maybe he would still be manager next season. A few scowling faces are exactly what Arsenal need to even out all that useless beauty.
When it comes off, Arsenal are still a very good side. They got in behind Atletico on plenty of occasions last night and might have won with more of a goal threat.
Yet there is something missing — a determination, a cutting edge. They look like a team who have not heard the crack of a whip in a long time. in that way, they were Atletico’s perfect opposition.
even with Diego Simeone imprisoned on the balcony of an executive box following his first-leg dismissal, this is very obviously his team. it is built to resist, to hold on to slender leads.
Arsenal could not see out a single-goal advantage at home, yet once Costa had got Atletico’s noses in front, the outcome was all too predictable.
Taking the slowest walk to the touchline, replaced by Fernando Torres with eight minutes left, Costa embodied that desperado attitude. Arsenal don’t have it. They put pressure on Atletico’s goal without ever convincing that good would come of it.
They had a go, in their own way. it just wasn’t a way that was ever going to beat Atletico, which is why a change has to come.
The early signs were ominous. First, a rash chase out to clear by goalkeeper David ospina, that brought him into conflict with his own team-mates as he rushed to punch the ball.
This was followed by a coming together of Costa and Nacho Monreal that sent the Arsenal man sprawling. Costa bullying a member of Arsenal’s back four? Who would have thought it?
Yet Arsenal looked good, these occasional lapses aside. Their passing was neat but, sadly, much of it was undermined by a poor final touch or ball. A lovely passing move would come to nothing, overhit or sloppily controlled just when it mattered most.
That is one of the biggest differences between the greatest Wenger sides and what he will be leaving to his successor. Quality.
Arsenal used to be mustard in and around the box, now it is where their finest work falls down. The best move of the match from either side set Alexandre Lacazette away some 15 yards from goal, but his first touch was so heavy it took him out of shooting range. Arsenal had no option but to start again, and when Mesut ozil recycled the ball, his pass, too, was a fraction off.
All this would have been frustrating enough had Arsenal not also suffered the most terrible bad luck within the opening 10 minutes.
Koscielny fell clutching his right Achilles, in obvious agony, with no player near him. That is always a bad sign. Costa was in the vicinity, of course, but blameless on this occasion.
He even went over to enquire after his stricken opponent. After at least four minutes of treatment, Koscielny was taken from the field on a stretcher. His Achilles
problems are long- standing, requiring constant care, and if the injury is as bad as it looked, his season is over, his World Cup and probably his year, too.
The last time injury removed Koscielny from a major european match, Arsenal collapsed in Munich. This was different.
While they failed to hold out until half time — Costa’s goal was scored in the minutes added for Koscielny’s treatment — they didn’t fall into disarray.
Jack Wilshere took the armband, Calum Chambers the responsibility of fitting into the back four alongside Mustafi.
Indeed, it was not until the 37th minute that Atletico carved out a serious scoring opportunity. A corner was left bobbling about, eventually falling to Koke on the edge of the area, his shot flying just wide of the far post.
A minute later, a quickly taken free-kick by Koke found Arsenal in sleep mode again — Antoine Griezmann allowed to turn and shoot across the face of goal.
The warning signs were there and moments before half-time Arsenal were found wanting again.
It was a lovely pass from Griezmann, slipping the ball to Costa on the left, but hector Bellerin was simply not alert to the danger and Arsenal’s nemesis was left one on one with Ospina.
he hadn’t scored in eight games, but he does not miss from there — not against Arsenal — and made no mistake. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. enough for Arsenal, at least. All that remains of the season is ceremony.