Arsenal concede a late goal to hand complete control of their Europa League semi-final over to Atletico Madrid.
Arsene Wenger’s final European home match as the Gunners’ manager played out like much of his last season overall.
Facing an opponent reduced to ten men with a whole 80 minutes still to play, his side were insufficiently ruthless in attack – converting just one of 28 attempts – and had their defensive fragility exposed all too easily.
That might seem unduly harsh, but there is little room for sentiment in a European semi-final, and Diego Simeone’s team were certainly not the ones to indulge an opponent’s shortcomings.
The first leg of the tie finished 1-1, Atletico securing what should prove to be a vital away goal from a late breakaway in which Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi made major errors.
In truth, Arsenal would have struggled to defend a 1-0 lead, given to them by Alexandre Lacazette’s header from a Jack Wilshere cross, in the second leg anyway – this is a side that has kept just league three clean sheets away from home all season, after all.
And in Fantasy terms, last night’s result will have had little bearing on the team that travels to face Man United on Sunday in Gameweek 36.
The Gunners have bet the farm on winning the Europa League as their way of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, so rotation before and during continental action has been ongoing for a while.
Add in the emotional baggage of last night’s draw-that-felt-like-a-loss, and those Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers with Arsenal assets in their teams might well be in for an uncomfortable weekend.
Only two players have double-digit ownership figures – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (13.6%) and Hector Bellerin (10.0%) – and the Spaniard, along with Koscielny, played no part in the league match that followed the conclusion of Arsenal’s quarter-final against CSKA Moscow.
Aubameyang, ineligible in Europe, was benched in Gameweek 35 as Wenger opted to give his midweek line-up a rare run-out together, but the striker will surely start against United.
Nonetheless, he is the most sold player ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, with over 93,000 parting company.
If form were a key indicator, he would be joined up front by Lacazette (6.8%), who was excellent last night and has four goals in as many Gameweeks, despite starting only two of them.
But a team similar to the one that faced Newcastle in Gameweek 34, on the Sunday after the Moscow match, is likely to be picked by Wenger.
Lacazette did feature at St James’ Park, although he was returning from injury at the time and is likely to be shifted to the bench at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Mustafi and Nacho Monreal were the only regular defenders to get the nod against the Magpies, and the likes of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey did not even make the squad.
Wenger made no changes over last night’s 90 minutes, meaning that the likes of Calum Chambers, Alex Iwobi and Sead Kolasinac could come into the reckoning this weekend.
Arsenal will be back in league action in Double Gameweek 37, starting off with a home match against Burnley just three days after the Europa League tie is decided.
With domestic duties now reduced to dead rubbers, the make-up of the side is again likely to be heavily influenced by their European exertions.
Should they fail to reach the final, though, that clash with The Clarets will be Wenger’s last home match in charge of the club and surely heightens the chances of him fielding a full-strength line-up from that point onwards, which also includes trips to Leicester and Huddersfield.
Granted, Arsenal are not yet out of the Europa League, although finding a way past a seasoned team that’s conceded just four goals at home in the league all season will be a monumental task.
Should they pull off a major surprise and make the final – which takes place just three days after the end of the league season – then the inevitable rotation that will ensue is likely to steer most of us away from their main men.
