Arsenal Lose Europa League Round of 32 First Leg to BATE Borisov

Arsenal’s Europa League knockout stage campaign got off to the worst possible start on Thursday, as they fell 1-0 to Belarusian side BATE Borisov at the Borisov Arena in the first leg of the Round of 32.

Oh boy, right when Arsenal needed a strong performance to get themselves back on track, they got outclassed by BATE Borisov in Belarus, albeit predictably. This now puts the Gunners in a tough position for the home leg, as they did not manage to grab a crucial away goal. The match did not go as planned at all. Arsenal dominated the first portion of the first half, but as BATE started to crawl back into the match, they were able to expose some of Arsenal’s flaws, most notably their left side of defence.

The opening goal and the only goal came right on the stroke of half-time, after a Stasevich free-kick near the right touchline was headed in by Stanislaw Drahun. The Serbian rose far above the rest and found the back of the net with relative ease.

Although you might have expected Arsenal to up the tempo a bit and create more chances after going down, the rest of the match went in a worse fashion than the first half did, as they put up just 3 shots on target despite having a ridiculous 77% possession.

To rub more salt into the wound, an inexcusable elbow from a clearly frustrated Alexandre Lacazette late in the match led to a red card for the French striker, thus ending any chance of grabbing a late away goal.

Overall, it was an extremely poor performance from Arsenal all across the park. Once again their defence looked vulnerable, their midfield unable to create chances, their strikers isolated, and their left wing-back Sead Kolasinac the only real threat in the final third. Major questions have to be asked about Unai Emery now, as his team has essentially regressed in recent months.

There is lots of work to be done for Arsenal, who are among the favourites to capture this Europa League. Nothing but a significant victory will do in the 2nd leg, as the Gunners face elimination in the Europa League round of 32.