Arsenal analysis: No perfect goodbye for Arsene Wenger as bully boy Diego Costa makes Hector Bellerin pay

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James Olley3 May 2018

Diego Costa ensured Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign as Arsenal manager will end in Huddersfield and not Lyon as the former Chelsea man hit the winner for Atletico Madrid in a closely fought Europa League semi-final.

Wenger announced last month that he will step down at the end of the season, a campaign now set to end in bitter disappointment and with no silverware following a 1-0 defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Gunners lost captain Laurent Koscielny early on, reportedly with a torn Achilles, and the visitors' night got worse on the stroke of half-time when Costa notched the goal that secured a 2-1 aggregate win for Diego Simeone's side.

James Olley assesses the key talking points in Madrid...

No perfect goodbye for Wenger

EPA

Arsene Wenger’s hopes of bowing out with a maiden European trophy are over. The Gunners left themselves with an uphill task after drawing the first leg at home 1-1 - despite playing against 10 men for 80 minutes - but they were in this match throughout and the most disappointing aspect for Wenger might be their lack of conviction and quality in the final third, characteristics he talked up prior to the game.

Wenger’s long goodbye will now conclude with three Premier League matches in which the only thing Arsenal have to play for is sixth place. It is hardly a fitting finale for one of the managerial greats but yet it also explains why he is leaving this summer.

Costa haunts Arsenal again

REUTERS

It had to be him. Diego Costa wasted little time in bullying the Arsenal defence, reprising a role he relished at Chelsea, firing wide after barging Nacho Monreal off the ball.

On the stroke of half-time, Antoine Griezmann’s found Costa with a superb through ball and Costa held off Hector Bellerin and fired past David Ospina.

AFP/Getty Images

It was his fourth goal in seven games against Arsenal and a killer blow on the stroke of half-time.

He had chances to kill the game off thereafter as Arsenal struggled to cope with the physical challenge and there was even time for the obligatory yellow card, sustained follow a fiery confrontation with Shkodran Mustafi.

Bellerin’s struggles continue

REUTERS

Bellerin was once considered one of the finest right-backs in Europe, yet he has struggled with his form for some time and those issues continued in the Spanish capital.

The 23-year-old’s final ball going forward - particularly in the first half - was disappointing, while he was slow to react to the danger for Costa’s opener.

Talk continues of a summer move away from the club - with Juventus, Barcelona and Manchester United among the interested parties - but regardless of whether he stays of leaves, Bellerin will benefit from a new manager challenging him to return to a level which made him so highly coveted.

Koscielny’s World Cup is surely over

Getty Images

Arsenal’s task here was difficult enough without losing their captain to injury early on. Koscielny looked to push off in a different direction - with neither the ball nor another player near him - but crumpled in a heap holding his right ankle.

The 32-year-old is not prone to exaggeration and so the sight of him beating the ground before being stretchered off in agony prompted immediate concern - fears that were later realised when the club confirmed at half-time that Koscielny had indeed torn his Achilles.

Koscielny may well have known straight away that he has played his last game for Arsenal under Wenger and will now surely miss the World Cup for France.

Welbeck gamble backfires

AFP/Getty Images

Wenger told BT Sport before kick-off that he selected Danny Welbeck over Henrikh Mkhitaryan because he wanted more strikers on the pitch with Arsenal requiring to score at least once.

Mkhitaryan had picked up a minor knee injury in last Sunday’s defeat at Manchester United but having insisted he left the Armenian out for tactical reasons, it felt like the wrong call.

Mkhitaryan was arguably Arsenal’s best player at Old Trafford and they missed his guile and composure in the final third here, especially with Mesut Ozil enduring one of his more frustrating evenings.

As it was, Mkhitaryan was given 22 minutes as a substitute to influence the game - flashing a 72nd-minute shot just over - but it was too little, too late.

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