Arsenal were poor in Moscow, there is no hiding from it. The 2-2 draw and 6-3 aggregate score papered over some reoccurring cracks. In this Europa League campaign, they have arguably played out their two-legged ties with disturbing disparities, one with devastating force and another where they have barely shown up. Friday’s draw in Lyon, has now paired The Gunners with Atletico Madrid, a side that encapsulates a dogged determinism and a destructive dynamism, there will be no quarter given, Arsenal will not be allowed to slip for a moment.
La Liga was over in February it seemed, Barcelona held an 11-point lead over Atleti and the Madrid based side were simply focusing (it seemed) of staying ahead of Real to finish in second spot. The Catalan side did slip over the next month it is true but the Diego Simeone’s side still went on to pick up enough points to cut that gap down to five points. The feat was incredible as compared the likes of Real and Barca, the red and whites have much less of a budget, they shouldn’t even be at the same table.
Hark back to when Arsenal moved into the Emirates, no money, debts to pay, Nicolas Bendtner and Denilson present and correct. Atleti have also moved to a new stadium and on top of this they are in the middle of a transfer ban, the club could not strengthen of sell which meant that players who had under-performed, like Nicolas Gaitan and Luciano Vietto got stays of execution, even if this pained the Madrid faithful. Amidst all of this there was the issue with Antoine Griezmann, he was at one point looking at other options before the club had to throw substantial bags of cash at him to make him stay. It was a wise move; how would they have replaced him?
Griezmann may have agreed to stay put but at the start of the season he looked like a ‘little boy lost’, there was regret hanging over him and he netted only five times before 2017 ended. Things were tough in this half of Madrid yet, Simeone never let them give up, they never would just roll over despite players like Vietto, Fernando Torres and Kevin Gameiro throwing in terrible performances. The low point did come however, as, two draws with Qarabag saw them fall out if the Champions League, Roma and Chelsea progressed and it was time to pick up and carry on in the Europa League.
The league form however, continued to impress even though at that point (on the back of some draws) they dropped to fourth. They remained unbeaten until the 17th game of the campaign and now still look like challenging in they will finish second. When you look at the budget they have, the transfer ban and the fact that they have changed surroundings, (an issue that is often thrown up as an excuse) they still sit in second, albeit 11 points off Barcelona again. When you acknowledge that one of the best players on the planet plays for the Catalans and the money they spent in the summer it is no easy feat. They are four points ahead of their city rivals who also boast a player who has claim to being ‘the other best player on the plant’ and they have lost only three times all campaign.
Arsenal and Atleti occupy two different parts of sports psychology, two mindsets that cause debate, yet they have similarities. For Arsenal you could ask have they under achieved? On the continent the mindset is that you should finish according to your wage bill, so sixth it is. On the other hand, with the players that they have at their disposal it is hard to argue this point. Atleti have punched above their weight but their success backs up the argument of good coaching, like Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli, they prove that in a word where football and business are one, the training field still counts.
Arsenal are certainly at a point where this two-legged tie will define their last 20 years. Should Arsene Wenger win the Europa League then the legacy will be a glorious one. It will be if he doesn’t, but it will take longer to recognise. The problem with this is that Simeone and Madrid don’t give a jot about this and will be perhaps one of the toughest ties that the Gunners could have faced. There will be no room for error, no quarter given, and Arsenal will have to show a side of them that even their most loyal fans are not sure they have.
