Arsenal Vs Burnley: 5 things we learned – End on a high

1. If not for a missed penalty…

I hate to reflect on what could or should have been in a season. There are a million different permutations, all of which have their own impact on what eventually unfolded. Some moments went Arsenal’s way and others did not. It is the nature of sport.

That said, had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored that penalty in the North London Derby in early March, Arsenal would have jumped into third position from fifth, Spurs would be down to fifth and out of the Champions League positions, and he would have won the Golden Boot outright.

Instead of talking about the late-season collapse of the team, we would have been discussing what a brilliant first season it had been for Unai Emery, how he had turned around the club and set them on a hopeful, promising course for the future. Rather, the Europa League final will now define how this season is viewed.

And Aubameyang missing that penalty has nothing to do with Emery. That does not exonerate him from mismanaging the final weeks of the season, but it should provide a little context to the discourse surrounding his first year as Arsenal head coach.