Gunners spend a night on the boos
EUROPA LEAGUE ACTION Arsenal through but they fail to impress
ARSENAL got an early repayment from Cologne as they sealed a spot in the knockout stage amid boos at the Emirates.
The Gunners were grateful to the Germans for beating BATE Borisov to ensure this bore draw against Red Star saw Arsene Wenger’s men through.
And Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was happy with that.
He said: “We knew we had the quality to get out of the group and if you can’t win the game, don’t lose it.
“We’re not delighted with a point but we’ll take it. In the first half they were the better team but in the second half we were on top. We’ll learn from this and we want to win the group.”
After the damage the Cologne fans caused when they came to the Emirates in September – which they have to pay Arsenal for after being charged by UEFA – giving the Gunners a helping hand to get through was the least they could do.
And Wenger’s men needed it after a display not good enough to get the job done on their own and being booed off.
The two keepers were a big reason for the stalemate. Red Star’s Milan Borjan twice frustrated the man who beat him late on in the first game between the sides, Olivier Giroud. He kicked a close-range effort from the Frenchman clear then got the better of the big striker in a one-on-one.
They were rare breakthroughs for Arsenal who were disjointed going forward.
And Gunners No.1 Matt Macey, on his European debut, matched Borjan’s efforts with a pair of full-stretch saves.
The 6ft 7in youngster stood tall to palm Slavoljub Srnic’s effort over before stretching every inch to tip Vujadin Savic’s header on to the bar.
Macey should have had no chance just before the break when Richmond Boakye bore down on goal but the Red Star striker bent his effort off target.
Arsenal continued to toil after the break but Wilshere looked set to end his day on a high note after his England snub – Gareth Southgate omitted the midfielder for this month’s friendlies with Germany and Brazil – when he wriggled into the box. But his clever effort was hooked off the line by Damien Le Tallec.
New young hope Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to try to find a winner but there was to be no happy ending.