Arsenal crashed out of the Europa League after losing 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their semi-final and 2-1 on aggregate, denying manager Arsene Wenger the chance to end his career at the club with a European trophy.
Alexandre Lacazette was powerless to stop Arsenal’s exit after a disappointing display.
Here’s an in-depth look at how the Frenchman fared.
KEY STATS
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 0
Shots on target – 0
Pass Accuracy – 96%
Key Passes – 1
Dribbles – 1
Touches – 36
30-SECOND REPORT
An uninspiring display from the Arsenal striker. In fairness, Lacazette rarely received the service he needs to thrive, with strike partner Danny Welbeck in particular disappointing, and Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan weren’t able to set him up either.
Nonetheless, Lacazette’s inability to create anything for himself revealed his limits as a player, and his indecisiveness cost Arsenal a potential goal.
GOT RIGHT
His passing was crisp and his movement helped him get into dangerous positions during Arsenal’s attacks. Indeed, had Arsenal’s crossing been better, Lacazette would likely have gotten a goal; he was in the right place to pounce on a chance quite often, only for the chance to never come. The Frenchman has every right to be disappointed in his teammates.
GOT WRONG
His hold-up play wasn’t great, as Atletico’s hard-nosed defence gave him no quarter – and it wasn’t a battle Lacazette seemed to relish. That’s a stark contrast to his opposite number, as Diego Costa thrives on such contests. And as much as he was let down by his teammates’ poor service, he still had Arsenal’s best chance and failed to convert.
Lacazette missed Arsenal’s best chance to score.
KEY MOMENTS
27th minute, CHANCE: Lacazette got a run on goal after breaking through Atletico’s back line, but couldn’t get a shot off thanks to excellent keeping by Jan Oblak.
VERDICT
This was a display that showed two key aspects of Lacazette’s game: one, that his effort and work rate will rarely be lacking, and two, that he will struggle to create chances for himself. There’s no shame in that – many top-notch strikers are similar – but it will cost Arsenal on occasion. That being said, he would have expected better from his teammates.
RATING – 6/10
