• Home
  • FIBA
  • EuroLeague
  • NBA/NCAA
  • National Leagues
  • Podcast
  • Features
  • More
  • Contact

Grimag

  • FIBA
  • EuroLeague
  • NBA/NCAA
  • National Leagues
  • Podcast
  • Features
  • More

Arsenal on verge of Europa League elimination

April 27, 2018

Despite having a man advantage in their Europa League semifinal first leg against Atletico Madrid, Arsenal were unable to see off the Spanish side. Now, the Gunners must go to Spain needing an away goal at the very least to have any hope of progressing to the Europa League final. Atletico are the sportsbooks’ favourite to win the competition and the ManBetX Bonus code can give punters plenty of incentive to wager on the tournament final.

Arsenal’s inability to keep a late lead doomed the Gunners, and despite drawing 1-1 with Atletico, the result felt more like a loss. Thursday night, the two clubs will tangle once more, only this time at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. It is a difficult place to play as Atletico have not lost at home during the La Liga season. Not only has the Wanda been a fortress for Atletico in terms of wins and losses this term, but the club has only allowed four goals at home.

Atletico’s defence has been so good at home that the club haven’t conceded a goal in 11 straight matches at the Wanda. That is a run that stretches back to mid-December. Arsenal’s task in the Spanish capital won’t be easy. The Gunners must score an away goal to go through after allowing Antoine Griezmann to score on the counter-attack in the first leg. Griezmann’s 82nd minute goal was a sucker punch to Arsenal, and it was allowed due to sloppy defending from centre-back Laurent Koscielny.

The Gunners amassed 76.1% possession on Thursday night, which was due to Sime Vrsaljko’s ninth minute sending off. His two mistimed tackles allowed Arsenal to have a man advantage for 81 minutes. However, Atletico’s stout defending prevented Arsenal from breaking through more than once. Goalkeeper Jan Oblak was the man Atletico manager Diego Simone can truly thank for his team’s good fortune. The highly rated shot stopper made seven saves. The goalkeeper is being linked with a possible move to Arsenal and other big clubs after his brilliant performance. However, it looks like it will take around £80 million to trigger his release clause.

Arsene Wenger potentially has one more European match with Arsenal. The Frenchman will step down at the end of the season and Thursday’s fixture in Madrid may very well be his last. While Arsenal’s players have been guilty of poor performances over the last few years under Wenger, the team turned up its aggression in the first leg. Arsenal will need that same aggression and desire to score that the team showed in the first leg, if they hope to go through.

In the aftermath of the first leg, Arsenal were labelled by many in the British press as “lightweight”. That criticism seems incredibly harsh as the Gunners battled the tournament favourite. The second leg must see Wenger’s team be more ruthless in attack, however. The side cannot try to walk the ball into the net. Needing a goal to progress, Arsenal must shoot on sight at the Wanda Stadium on Thursday night.

Apr 27, 2018ballineurope
Powered by Sidelines
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
This post was published on April 27, 2018
Injuries hurt Bayern Munich's chance of Champions League progressionEuropean football transfer rumours: Which potential moves could happen?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

ballineurope
7 years ago More
Recent Posts
Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a Lock for Finals MVP?
5 days ago
After Euroleague failure, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos meet in a Greek Finals full of pressure, pride, and questions for Ataman and Bartzokas
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Face a New Reality
20 days ago
Fenerbahce beat AS Monaco to win the Euroleague title, as Sarunas Jasikevicius claimed his first crown after years of close calls.
Fenerbahce Finish the Job as Jasikevicius Strikes Gold
21 days ago
Categories
Recent Posts
Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a Lock for Finals MVP?
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Face a New Reality
Fenerbahce Finish the Job as Jasikevicius Strikes Gold
Tags
EuroLeagueNBAYouTubeReal MadridCSKA MoscowFC BarcelonaFIBAOlympiacosPanathinaikosZalgiris KaunasACBSpainMaccabi Tel AvivRicky RubioTeam SpainLos Angeles LakersMontepaschi SienaPartizan BelgradeLithuaniaIrelandGermanyPau GasolItalyTeam LithuaniaTurkeyTeam FranceCaja Laboral BaskoniaLietuvos RytasFenerbahce ÜlkerGreeceJuan Carlos NavarroSerbiaSan Antonio SpursTony ParkerMinnesota TimberwolvesFranceEuroleagueDirk Nowitzkibasketball highlightsTeam RussiaALBA BerlinEuroCupDallas MavericksTeam USAEuroBasket 2011
Share
0
Facebook
ABOUT
BallinEurope.com was founded in September 2007 by Christophe Ney (who now runs the excellent scouting-themed website European Prospects) and Tobias Seitz, both then bloggers for FIBA.com with over 10 years’ worth of experience in the professional basketball world each. The mission then was to “provide a very unique perspective of Basketball in and about Europe.”
Most Commented
Why Andrei Kirilenko and CSKA Moscow must win the Euroleague
13 years ago
180 Comments
Euroleague Transfers Table 2008/2009
17 years ago
168 Comments
A week in highlights: Spanish block party, mighty Milos, Utah rap and some dude dunking in L.A.
14 years ago
139 Comments
Archives
Get In Touch

Email: emmetryan@gmail.com

Name: Emmet Ryan

2014 © BallinEurope. Join JCI Dublin