Arsenal: 4 talking points from Villarreal defeat

Arsenal left Estadio de le Ceramica with their Europa League ambitions in the balance after a 2-1 defeat against former manager Unai Emery’s Villarreal on Thursday. Here are the talking points.

While Mikel Arteta didn’t surprise anyone with the decision to change only one member of the lineup from the Premier League defeat to Everton, the system which he plumped for raised more than a few eyebrows.

Opting against fielding a recognised centre-forward and instead tasking Emile Smith Rowe with the striker duties, his efforts to out-think his opposite number drew widespread criticism.

Villarreal were comfortable throughout the opening 45 minutes as Arsenal’s left side of Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos was being painfully exposed, the area of the pitch that the hosts took advantage of after just five minutes.

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Arsenal: 4 talking points from Villarreal defeat in Europa League semi-final first leg

Samuel Chukwueze waltzed through Xhaka and Ceballos, before the ball fell to Manu Trigueros who drilled a low effort beyond Bernd Leno.

Unable to muster any grip on proceedings and left chasing shadows with spaces in between the lines frighteningly vast, Villarreal took a firm grip on the tie when some weak defending from a corner allowed Raul Albiol to slam home from close range at the back post.

The anti-tinker vs the over-tinker was laid bare at half-time as Emery made one substitution to Arteta’s none, despite the warning signs hanging over Dani Ceballos and balance issues within his team. Lo and behold, 13 minutes after the restart the Spaniard received his marching orders for a second booking, leaving Arsenal with a mountain to climb.

Willpower and determination from Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe clawed Arsenal back into the game when the former won a penalty for the latter to convert and then Étienne Capoue’s embarrassing attempt to avoid a second yellow by feigning injury came to no avail as he too was sent off.

No further goals came but the task ahead is a perilous one, especially if a repeat performance follows.

Individuals Save the Day

This was not a managerial masterclass by any stretch of the imagination. Arteta’s system was like a cat seeing its reflection in the shadow, toying with himself in an effort to come out on top.

Plans don’t always work. Making a mistake is accepted, players do it all the time, but it’s how you respond to that. The issue with Arteta – perhaps it’s arrogance – is that he is so firm in his beliefs he can’t see the wood for the trees.

Everyone could see the system was playing into Villarreal’s hands and restricting Arsenal’s. He opted against changing it until it was too late, and his bacon was saved by individuals.

As alluded to, Pepe deserves immense credit for working his socks off all evening: chasing possession, providing an option in behind, covering Xhaka at full-back. While quality was lacking in certain areas and he should have done more with his chances against Juan Foyth, as far as effort goes, he may never have worked so hard.

Bernd Leno’s huge save at 2-0 has also kept this tie alive, while Saka’s bravery yet again was the shining beacon that has given Arsenal hope of progression.

The 19-year-old came alive in the second half, again lacking quality in certain areas, but using brawn to win the penalty, keep at Villarreal and make Arsenal competitive. Individuals saved the day.

Dani Ceballos Red Card a Huge Benefit for 2nd Leg

Normally you’d say something along the lines of Ceballos’ red card being a blessing in disguise, but that would allude to fans not realising within seconds of his sending off that he won’t be available for the second leg. On the contrary, it was everyone’s immediate reaction after the rage quelled.

There is no place for him in this squad. Every dash of flair in build-up play or raking first time pass comes with the caveat of zero spatial awareness and numerous defensive frailties.

He played a couple of cute passes in the first half. That’s about as far as the praise can go. Watching Foyth gallop beyond him was emotionally scarring. This is a very average defender making mincemeat of a Real Madrid midfielder, one who can’t help his lack of athleticism but does everything in his power to elevate those deficiencies.

No Ceballos is the second leg is cause for optimism. With Kieran Tierney, David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all in line to make the squad or even start, the reshuffle in midfield and at left-back that needed to happen even without their presences on Thursday can finally come into effect.

It should have been a 4-2-3-1 regardless with Xhaka’s competitiveness and physicality in central midfield, someone who may actually win a duel, and now that hand is forced. Arteta has no option otherwise.

Villarreal Were Poor and Arsenal Were Worse

This theme is getting repetitive.

Against Benfica in the first leg of the round of 32, the Portuguese side were poor. Against Slavia Prague in the first leg of the quarter-finals, the Czech side were poor. Even in the round of 16 first leg with Olympiacos, the Greek side were poor and Arsenal only mustered a healthy scoreline courtesy of two stunning goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny.

On Thursday it occurred again: Villarreal weren’t very good.

Of course, this summarises the quality of the Europa League. Arsenal have faced four average sides in the knockout stages and have come out of their first legs with just one victory.

There was nothing especially impressive about Villarreal, even if they had six shots on target, and they way they retreated into their shells after the break signals a mental fragility both in the manager and players. Just maybe. Arsenal did everything they could to let them win.

While this would in normal circumstances breed hope for the second leg, as surely Arsenal can’t be as bad as they were, there is no reason to assume the Gunners can improve upon that display given the way the end of this season is panning out.

They can’t beat poor sides because they are a poor side.

Arsenal Are Still in This Tie

Ignoring the above about Arsenal giving supporters little hope of a turnaround, on face value this tie is still within their grasp. With 20 minutes to go in Spain with ten men and two goals down, nobody would have said so. Yet here we are.

With the way the game was heading, 2-1 would’ve been the absolute best they could have hoped for. At half-time confidence was shot and in order to have restored some faith Arsenal simply had to secure the away goal. They did.

A 1-0 home victory will seal the deal.

Despite that, one can’t help feel that Arsenal will need to score three times at the Emirates. Villarreal have dangerous options in attack: Chukwueze showed his ability, Gerard Moreno picked up neat positions in the half-spaces and Paco Alcacer is constantly on the move.

Keeping a shutout in north London at a stadium where Arsenal regularly look nervous is hard to envisage.

Spending more time on the training pitch working on how they defend transitions – which was shockingly bad on Thursday – and breaking down low blocks is essential. Some of that will come with the return for 4-2-3-1, and victory over Newcastle is essential for confidence.