Arsenal: Celebrate progression, but drastic improvement needed

Petition for a Bukayo Saka statue at the Emirates Stadium, anyone? After a below-par performance had left them staring down the barrel of a disastrous European elimination, Arsenal narrowly avoided Greek tragedy in the most dramatic of circumstances in midweek, producing a spirited comeback from 2-1 down to beat Benfica 3-2 and book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Mikel Arteta had been in buoyant mood ahead of Thursday’s must-win encounter in Athens, billing the game in his pre-match interviews as ‘a final’ and insisting that those averse to pressure do not belong at the club. Despite such stirring words, his rallying call appeared to ring hollow on the night, and once Benfica secured an away goal the tie always looked in danger of slipping away.

However, two players who stepped up when it counted and dragged us out of the mire were Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Our starboy was once again the best player on the pitch for Arsenal and he demonstrated his astonishing talent with two assists in a man-of-the-match display, while the captain recovered from last week’s disappointing showing in Rome to score two crucial goals and seal victory.

Progression in the competition is of course all that really matters, but Arteta will be concerned with the team’s collective display. Having afforded themselves little margin for error after the first-leg draw, the pressure of the occasion seemed to get to his side and they made quite a slow start in Greece.

Arsenal secure crucial progression to the Europa League last 16, but there is plenty of room for improvement

Right from the opening exchanges, the passing was conservative and needlessly sloppy, with the Arsenal players seemingly paralysed by the fear of manufacturing mistakes. However, as has been a common theme this season, the mistake duly arrived, and this time it was the turn of Dani Ceballos.

In what was an otherwise impressive performance from the Spaniard, Ceballos nearly cost us the game with a baffling and inexplicable header towards Bernd Leno from the middle of the pitch. The ill-advised effort was easily intercepted by Rafa Silva who grabbed another huge away goal for the Portuguese side, but thankfully it counted for nothing in the end.

Although some criticism for both the manager and the display is warranted, something fans frequently lambast Arteta for is his substitutions, and on Thursday his tactical changes played a key role in our recovery. The introduction of Thomas Partey for the final 30 minutes provided the Gunners with greater control in midfield, while even Willian, who has been extremely poor since his arrival, notched his first goal contribution since the opening day as he set up Tierney for the equaliser.

They did it the hard way as they so often do, and Arsenal’s reward for their efforts is progression to the next round of the Europa League, where they will face old foes Olympiacos (gulp). For now, let’s just enjoy the events of midweek, but drastic improvement is needed if we are to stand a chance of lifting the trophy in May.