Greek tragedy
ARSENAL 1-2 OLYMPIACOS (AET) (2-2 AGG, OLYMPIACOS WIN ON AWAY GOALS) Gunners bow out with Aubameyang missing sitter in dramatic finale
This was the worst night of the Mikel Arteta era, and a match of such chaos – swinging from unbridled joy to crippling despair – that it was almost hard to believe what was unfolding. The brutal facts, though, are these: Arsenal are out of the Europa League, arguably their best hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
Dragged all the way into extra time after conceding a dreadfully sloppy goal from a corner, Arsenal lurched back in front thanks to the most remarkable of Pierre-emerick Aubameyang overhead kicks. It felt momentous, not just on the night but potentially for Arsenal’s campaign, and Arteta could be seen hurtling down the touchline in celebration, certain it was done at last. The Spaniard clearly did not factor in Arsenal’s tendency to implode.
He has done so much good work with his defenders since his arrival, but brainlessness killed Arsenal again. Deep into the second hour of the match, goalkeeper Bernd Leno chose against clearing the ball and instead chipped it out for an Olympiacos corner.
What was going through his mind? Whatever he felt at that point, it became worse a moment later, when a delirious Youssef Elarabi slid in at the back post to score the goal that settled the tie and delivered the first major setback of Arteta’s reign as head coach. At the time it felt like a blow of nearconcussive force, and he now faces a major test of his man-management skills as Arteta looks to prevent this defeat from derailing his club’s entire season.
If El-arabi’s goal was where it ended for Arsenal, it was almost difficult to recall where it started. The evening had begun so long ago, and Arteta’s side were so flat and disjointed against an organised, dogged Greek defence. There were barely any chances of note until more than an hour had been played. Arsenal conceded in normal time to Pape Abou Cisse’s powerful header, again from a corner, which wiped out their one-goal advantage from the first leg.
Only with seven minutes of extra time remaining did the home side strike, with Aubameyang flying through the air and volleying into the top corner. The club’s captain somehow had another chance to win it, after Olympiacos had struck their second, but he fired wide from just six yards out, without a visiting defender in sight. Having missed, he crumpled to his knees.
The critics will describe it as vintage Arsenal. They will probably be right, too. This is a group of players who seem to possess an almost unique ability to undermine themselves at the worst moments.
Arteta has brought so much positivity and enthusiasm back after the dark final days of Unai Emery’s reign, yet that late Olympiacos goal was a gut-wrenching reminder of how much work remains to be done. “It hurts,” Arteta said. “This is football and sometimes it is very cruel.”
Where do Arsenal go from here? First up is Portsmouth, at Fratton Park, on Monday night in the FA Cup. It is an unappealing prospect. The league now becomes the only route to the Champions League and the race for those places is going to be fiercely competitive. If the going gets tough, as it did here, what evidence is there that Arsenal will have enough to get over the line?
“What can I say? It is very, very
hard,” said Aubameyang, who could not explain how he missed his second chance, having already scored with his first. “I don’t even know. I feel very, very bad. It can happen but I do not know how I missed this chance. I was tired, I had some cramps, but it is not an excuse.”
It will not help Arsenal’s self-belief that this was their strongest line-up. Nicolas Pepe showed glimpses of his ability in attack, but did not take his chances. Mesut Ozil could not find a killer pass against the deep-lying Olympiacos defence. Alexandre Lacazette struggled throughout. All across the pitch were players who had underperformed, and all of them will now need picking up.
Arteta said afterwards that he was proud of his players, and that there were positives to take. We can safely assume this will be the theme of his discussions with them in the coming days. What is also clear, though, is that Arteta will know their defending here was simply not good enough, and that their attackers must be more ruthless. Aubameyang, as evidenced with that miss, cannot do it all on his own.
“I know how much they wanted this competition,” Arteta said of his players. “I have seen the way they fight. It is a difficult one to digest as a team and a club, but this is football. You have to be able to handle that if you want to be in this industry. Now it is up to me to lift the players back up and move forward.”
The concern is how long that will take, and how damaging this knockout blow will be for Arsenal’s long-term health.