We ‘deserved to win’: Emery
MINSK: Arsenal “deserved to win” despite slumping to a stunning 1-0 defeat at BATE Borisov in Thursday’s Europa League last 32 tie, according to manager Unai Emery.
Arsenal, who had scored 10 goals in two games against the Belarusian side in the same competition in 2017, conceded at the stroke of half time from a set piece and Emery’s side now need to win by at least two goals at home to advance.
“We deserved to win but did not get the result. They were very organised,” Emery told reporters.
“We play another 90 minutes next week and I am sure it’s going to be different.Our big opportunity is next week at home, I trust in our players and in our stadium with our supporters.”
Striker Alexandre Lacazette was shown a straight red card in the 85th minute for felling Aleksandar Filipovic with an elbow and the Frenchman apologised for his actions after the game.
“Letting the team down like that is the worst feeling,” Lacazette wrote on Twitter.
“I should have stayed calm but it’s not always easy. Sorry.
“There are still 90 minutes to play and I believe that my teammates will make it to the next round.”
The return leg at Emirates Stadium is on Feb 21.
ARSENAL suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at BATE Borisov on a night forward Alexandre Lacazette will want to forget after being sent off late on, while Chelsea, Inter Milan and Napoli all won away in Europa League last 32 first-leg ties on Thursday.
Spanish sides Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal also tasted victory on the road, while Benfica, Club Brugge and Plzen have the upper hand heading into next week’s second legs.
Arsenal had scored 10 goals in two matches against BATE Borisov in the same competition in 2017 but never looked like being as prolific in the freezing temperatures of Belarus.
BATE took the lead when Stanislav Dragun nodded a free kick past Arsenal goalkeeper Peter Cech seconds before halftime after Lacazette put a header wide midway through the first half.
The Frenchman thought he had made up for his miss 10 minutes after the break but his effort was ruled out for offside.
To compound his misery Lacazette was shown a red card five minutes from time for felling Aleksandar Filipovic with an elbow after the defender held him back and was also booked.
Arsenal’s London neighbours Chelsea did much better in similar