Lacazette sorry as red card piles on Emery misery
Striker apologises for elbowing opponent Arsenal coach says side will get result at home
Arsenal’s European ambitions are hanging by a thread after a humiliating defeat in Belarus that ended with Alexandre Lacazette being shown a straight red card for elbowing a Bate Borisov player in the face.
Lacazette’s dismissal marked the lowest point of one of the worst nights of Unai Emery’s spell at Arsenal, with the head coach unable to change the game after his side fell behind to a first-half goal.
A contrite Lacazette later issued an apology on Twitter, saying: “Letting the team down like that is the worst feeling. I should have stayed calm but it’s not always easy. Sorry
Emery insisted that he was not shocked by the defeat, saying that his team deserved more from the match and adding that he had full faith in his players to turn the tie around at the Emirates next week.
The Spaniard will be without the suspended Lacazette, though, the £50million centreforward who has been arguably Arsenal’s most consistent attacker since the turn of the year. “I did not see the action but we need to control the frustration,” said Emery.
“We play another 90 minutes next week and I am sure it is going to be different. The first half was a good performance, we had chances to score. I am happy with the players’ effort. Defensively, when they were 1-0 up, they [Bate] were organised and competitive. Our big opportunity is next week at home.
“I trust in our players and in our stadium with our supporters. We can win or lose, but I trust in our work and preparations to make a different result.”
Emery again faced questions about the absence of Mesut Ozil, who was left in London despite returning to full training following a recent illness. Arsenal again lacked creativity in central areas, but Emery said the players that he selected had deserved to win the match. “Those that were here, we can win with them and we deserved that,” Emery said. “Last week we won and we played with the same players. We deserved to win but did not get the result. They were very organised.” Aleksei Baga, the Bate head coach, said he was not surprised by how poor the visiting side had been. “It was not a surprise for us,” said Baga. “We were preparing hard tactically and there was no surprise at all to see such a game from Arsenal.”
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown described it as one of the worst performances he had seen from his old club. The Belarussian calendar meant that it was Bate’s first match since Dec 13, yet the home side showed no signs of fatigue as they clung on to their firsthalf lead in a spirited showing.
Arsenal had begun the game brightly but failed to convert a string of clear-cut chances before Stanislav Dragun headed in the winner from Igor Stasevich’s freekick. It was the first goal that Arsenal have conceded in the Europa League since the opening round, yet it meant that Emery’s side have kept just two clean sheets in their past 14 matches in all competitions.
“I knew before the match it would be two games,” said Emery. “We wanted to get the best result like we did before. I respect them and watched the matches they played. Defensively they are well organised.
“We worked to stop them but they scored one. In attacking moments, we had more chances than them but the last action was not efficient.”
Arsenal’s performance was one of the most demoralising under Emery, and was made worse by the fact that the arrival of stars such as Pierre-emerick Aubameyang and Lucas Torreira failed to make any difference in the second half.
Emery will at least have a full week to prepare for the second leg at the Emirates, where Arsenal have been much more formidable opponents this season, because they do not play a match this weekend.
If they are unable to overturn the deficit, though, it will only put more pressure on Emery and his players in the Premier League.
The prospect of winning the Europa League presents Arsenal with a potential route into next season’s Champions League, while they remain one point outside the top four in the Premier League.