In a dramatic result out in Belarus, BATE beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Europa League.
The result puts the Gunners one down heading into the return leg at home but the most worrying thing to Arsenal fans will be the performance, which was perfunctory at best. What did we learn?
Winner: Stanislaw Drahun
BATE fans knew that their side could always play well against Arsenal, that they could give the Gunners a good game, but that it would probably end in defeat. Bridging the skill gap would be somewhat doable given the complacency brought on by Arsenal’s superior quality, but in the end Arsenal would be too good.
Well, that’s what people thought. Then BATE actually gave the Gunners a good game, they created the better chances… they looked lively. Of course anyone who watched Ajax vs. Real Madrid yesterday was expecting their inability to take chances to be a massive sign that an Arsenal goal was soon to arrive and break their hearts.
Then… it didn’t. With the half-time whistle about to blow, Igor Stasevich sent a delightful free-kick into the box. It a nicely curved effort that dropped short of Arsenal’s retreating defence and their holding midfielder Stanislaw Drahun, who had been playing well besides, stepped back and arced a beautiful header up and over the despairing Petr Cech to do the unthinkable and… give BATE the lead!
Loser: Matteo Guendouzi
Obviously when Arsenal struggle to impose themselves for so long against such an inferior opponent, some players are going to catch hell. In Arsenal’s case against BATE, Matteo Guendouzi was the unfortunate culprit.
Everyone knows Guendouzi’s potential, it’s obvious just watching him play, but he’s still very young and is being thrust into a role for which he does not yet have the consistency. He plays too much, essentially, and it results in displays like tonight where he tries too hard and just gives the ball away repeatedly. His intention was noble but he was so massively lacking in execution it’s hard to fathom how he played the full 90 minutes even though it was clear he was never going to do anything.
Winner: Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil’s problems with the Arsenal hierarchy are legendary by now. They’re also quite sad, where a formerly world-class talent is not even included in the matchday squad. This is especially absurd because Ozil can do things no other Arsenal player can, things that they could have really done with him doing out in Belarus.
Alright from the start it was clear Arsenal were playing fast, so Ozil would be of no use, but once BATE took the lead and parked the bus it became screamingly obvious that what Arsenal needed most was a creative player to unlock a packed defence. That’s exactly what Mesut Ozil is! So the Gunners looking lost without him is a huge boon for Ozil and the creative powers he possesses.
Loser: Wing-backs
Unai Emery relies heavily on wing-backs, he has done all his career. Nothing has changed in this regard at Arsenal; he was using Sead Kolasinac superbly and was helping Héctor Bellerin deliver on his massive potential before the Catalan got injured.
Against BATE, Emery started with Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles playing as wing-backs. The thing is both men didn’t really stamp their authority on the game despite ample chance to do just that. Sure, Kolasinac had a couple of moments (including a nice assist that was ruled out as Alexandre Lacazette was offside) but by and large, they were poor.
To make matters worse, when his Arsenal side were desperately chasing a goal, Emery took both men off! Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles both made way as Arsenal switched to a system where there were no full-backs and instead it was two wingers supplying the width. It was a damning indictment of the Gunners’ wing-backs that Emery had more confidence in an experimental shape than in them (especially as so much of his attacking play had been flowing through Kolasinac in particular).
Loser: Alexandre Lacazette
Look, it’s easy to understand being frustrated with Arsenak’s display in Belarus. Hell, angry even. The Gunners spent the vast majority of the night flailing about aimlessly and although Unai Emery made some good changes it never looked like being the difference between the sides.
Alexandre Lacazette has been sent off for only the third time in his senior career: The first time since October 2013.
Arsenal's night goes from bad to worse.
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— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 14, 2019
Alexandre Lacazette was making great runs the whole time, but due to the side’s creative stagnancy the ball was simply not reaching him. So when he was tussling with Aleksandar Filipovic and lashed out with an emphatic elbow straight into the Serbian’s jaw… it was understandable. Still a stupid mistake, though.
Loser: Unai Emery
On the plus side, defeat to BATE keeps up Arsenal’s yo-yo form this year. After winning the first two games of 2019, the Gunners have since gone from high to low, winning then losing then winning then losing then, well, you get the idea. It’s not good, but if the pattern holds then Arsenal should at least win the return leg in their next match. That’s something.
Unfortunately it’s really not enough for a side as decorated and talented as Arsenal to be losing away to BATE. Losing to the Manchester sides in domestic competition can happen, but BATE? They shouldn’t be able to compete against Arsenal and the fact that Emery’s initial XI was so easily nullified and his subs were so lacking in impact is a huge blow to the Spaniard’s reputation. He absolutely positively has to win the return leg and launch a genuine cup run if he wants to be a success at Arsenal.
The post Lacazette lashes out: Winners & losers as BATE Borisov stun Arsenal appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka News http://bit.ly/2N7y3Ez
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