Manager Arsene Wenger, will now leave the Gunners at the end of the season after 22 years in charge, with no European trophy with the club. As he will not be given a last chance to lift silverware with Arsenal after they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final.
With the score 1-1 from the first leg, former Chelsea striker Diego Costa returned to the Atletico side to haunt the Gunners again and it was his composed chip on the brink of half-time which ended their European hopes.
Antoine Griezmann slipped the crucial pass through to Costa after coming close with a powerful strike from a tight angle.
Arsenal were crestfallen going into the break but almost responded within minutes of the restart when Aaron Ramsey found himself through on goal. His touch let him down and the chance was wasted – as were a number of opportunities for the visitors throughout the second half.
A bad night was made worse for Arsenal when captain Laurent Koscielny was carried off with an Achilles injury, which may rule the Frenchman out of this summer’s World Cup.
Two-time champions Atletico will now face Marseille in their third Europa League final in eight years in Lyon on 16 May.
Defeat for Arsenal means they will miss out on Champions League football for the second straight season, Adding this to the record of 11 knock-outs at the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
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