Match Statistics: Arsenal 0-0 Villarreal
What is it for Mikel Arteta now?
It was all or nothing for Arsenal and their manager against Villarreal on Thursday night and they failed to get the job done.
Arsenal had their only hope for salvation after a terrible season in the Europa League Premier League, but are now left to lick their wounds after a painful semi-final exit.
Trailing 2–1 after last week’s first leg in Spain, Arteta’s side knew they would have to find at least one goal against a Villarreal outfit who sit in sixth place in La Liga.
But they also could not do so. Considering the rest of his season, Arsenal produced an ugly mess of performances – one that should raise serious questions about the manager.
Villarreal were comfortably the better side on both legs and qualified to go to the finals, where they will now meet Manchester United in Gdansk.
And Arteta didn’t do himself any favors in any of the games, both experimenting with his own structures, as a result of being confused with his team and unsure of himself.
Arsenal’s manager must have made a lot of credit in the bank with the club’s hierarchy following last season’s surprise FA Cup success.
At the time, the young Spaniard appeared to be an inspired choice. He had a crew that was lost under Una Emery and a genuine belief that the armory was going somewhere under him.
But it is difficult to move fast in less than a year and to say that there has been any progress.
Yes, there have been big issues on the pitch and players you would expect to perform like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been colorfully off-color for the majority of the campaign, but the criticism of Arteta should not be absent .
Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest finish since 1995, and they finished ninth this season with only four games remaining.
This is simply not good enough and now, stopping a miracle in the final weeks of the campaign, they decide to miss out on European qualification for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The performance in the second leg against Villarreal was a prime example of everything that is currently wrong with Arsenal.
There was no quality, no speed, nor any invention. It was a team of individuals hoping for some kind of inspiration, but it never came.
There were occasions, with Aubameyang hitting woodwork twice and Emil Smith Rowe lobbing an effort wide, but they were few and far between.
Arsenal knew in the game that their season was on the line and to know that they had to score at least one goal.
Even then, he had to deliver only two shots on target during the 90 drab minutes. If there was a plan before kick-off, it was hard to see what it is.
The inquiry will be immediate, but it is unlikely that Arsenal will pull the trigger and decide to move on from Arteta before the start of next season.
His appointment was seen as part of a long-term project. There was an acknowledgment that a reconstruction was needed and, until now, they have retained the support of those above them.
But that backing will now be put to the test. The credit he had made with the FA Cup victory has long expired and the failure to qualify for Europe will be massively expensive in terms of plans for a summer remodel.
It was a season filled with optimism under Arteta, but now it is one that has descended into ruins.
Where things go from here, only time will tell.
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