Arsenal vs Chelsea: What did we expect?

Arsenal were downright atrocious in the Europa League final against Chelsea, but then again, what exactly did we expect to happen?

Well, what is there left to say after witnessing what was an utterly shambolic second half from Arsenal? The truth is that we have seen it all before and the fact that we as fans are naive enough to even think things will be different means we clearly haven’t been watching the team the last few years.

The first half was encouraging, we didn’t really test Kepa in the Chelsea goal but we controlled the tempo and Granit Xhaka had a great chance with his shot that clipped the bar.

Should we have had a penalty? It was debated but the popular opinion was that Alexandre Lacazette hit the keeper’s head and tripped but you can argue it may have been given.

But we shouldn’t be worrying about an incident that took place in the opening quarter of the game. The warning signs were there before Olivier Giroud opened the scoring. Chelsea upped the tempo at the end of the first half and at the start of the second and we struggled to get on the ball.

After the opener, our heads dropped  but Chelsea completely killed us off with counter-attacking football. Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were completely isolated and the rest of the team just looked clueless and didn’t know what to do.

I’m including Mesut Ozil in that, and I couldn’t be more clear when I say I hope tonight was the last time I ever see him in an Arsenal shirt. £350,000 a week and yet again he doesn’t turn up. He was atrocious. There has got to be a point where he is dropped and kicked to the reserves for the rest of his time at the club.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

We are also in desperate need of a productive winger because the space that Kolasinac has on that left hand side was criminal but his final ball was so poor, it makes a mockery of the fact he was our top assist maker at one point.

Unfortunately, as a club we are now staring down the barrel of a £40m summer transfer budget, a third season of Europa League football and around a dozen players who aren’t good enough to play for the team, but after tonight’s result, it’s likely they will still be here next season.

All in all, the future is still looking really bleak.

One of the most frustrating things about the match was it just didn’t seem to be evident about how important the game was and the implications it had for the club. The whole build up was Unai Emery and the team talking about the importance of getting back into the Champions League, but when it came down to it we just didn’t turn up there was no leadership, no willingness to win, no desire not one thing.

You would think that it was Arsenal that finished in the top 4 not Chelsea. But as I have said before, this team really is a Europa League team and for the foreseeable future it’s going to stay that way. Sorry Arsenal, but if you can’t even up your game for a final then you shouldn’t be playing it.