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Arsenal miss out on Champions League despite win over Everton
There were moments in the first half, as Arsenal cut through Everton in the sun, when it felt as if everything was going to be alright. Arsenal were winning, Liverpool were still stuck at 0-0 and it felt as if we were heading for a vindication of sorts for Arsene Wenger. Arsenal could prepare for a 19th straight Champions League season under the renewed leadership of Wenger next season.
READ MORE: Arsenal don't deserve to be in Champions League
And then Georginio Wijnaldum scored for Liverpool and the dream was over. As Liverpool racked up the second-half goals at Anfield, locking in their fourth-place finish, this game was made wholly irrelevant which was unfortunate for the Arsenal players because many of them played very well here.
They beat Everton 2-1, not easy with 11 men and even harder with a man sent off after 13 minutes.
That was the real bad news of the afternoon, even worse than the fifth placed finish. For reasons known only to himself, Laurent Koscielny jumped into a tackle on Enner Valencia in a harmless area of the pitch. It was not malicious but it was very reckless and Michael Oliver was wholly entitled to send him off.
Now Koscielny, Arsenal’s best centre-back by a distance, will be suspended for next Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley. Gabriel is nowhere near as good as Koscielny but he was stretchered off early in the second half and now Wenger will have to somehow patch together a defence to take on the best team next weekend.
At the other end of the pitch, though, Arsenal can be proud of how they played. They have rediscovered some of their attacking edge in the final straight of the season. It has not been enough to rescue fourth place for them but Wenger has long admitted that they compromised their league chances with their bad run before Christmas.
Crucially, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are both playing well and even if this was Alexis’ last ever game for Arsenal at the Emirates at least he said goodbye with a goal. Arsenal set about Everton from the start and found themselves up against a defence with very little real interest in stopping them.
Arsenal could have scored after 70 seconds when Danny Welbeck miskicked from close range. The next time he got in, six minutes later, he messed up again but still ended up with an assist. Ozil rolled a low cross in from the left, Welbeck got his finish all wrong but the ball flew back off his boot to Hector Bellerin, who finished well. After a difficult few months Bellerin has recovered his best form in the last few weeks and Wenger has a serious decision to make between him and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at right wing-back at Wembley.
Even after Koscielny’s red card, Arsenal continued to fly forward and were soon rewarded with a second. Sanchez’s shot hit Phil Jagielka then hit Welbeck, the rest of the Everton defence just stood still, so Welbeck rolled it to Sanchez who tapped in.
It was only then that Everton started to play, Ronald Koeman throwing on Ross Barkley after just 25 minutes, having left him on the bench for what could be his last game for the club. Barkley started to cause problems and Petr Cech had to save well from him and from Romelu Lukaku more than once.
If Middlesbrough had held on for longer at Anfield then this game might have gone tense. But the way things went there sapped any real sense of occasion. It became more about enjoying the football, backing the team while urging Stan Kroenke to sell up to Alisher Usmanov, but not in so many words.
Everton had most of the ball and eventually they made it count. Rob Holding’s handball gifted them a penalty which Romelu Lukaku buried, but with Harry Kane pulling away at Hull City he did not get the end to the season he was hoping for either. He, too, could be off this summer if the right offer comes in.
The match itself ended in the best possible way as Arsenal confirmed the win in added time. Aaron Ramsey received a pass from Ozil, span on the edge of the box and curled a right-footed shot beyond Joel Robles’ left hand and into the far top corner of the net. A brilliant goal by a quality player, and one that bodes well for Sunday and beyond.
But ultimately this disappointing Arsenal season ended in the way many had feared for months. They have played well recently, and this was a good performance, but they are not among the top four teams in the country and will be playing in the Europa League next season. That is the verdict of the final Premier League table and it is its own judgement against Wenger’s continuing management of the club.
Arsenal (3-4-2-1) Cech; Gabriel (Mertesacker, 52), Koscielny, Holding; Bellerin, Xhaka (Coquelin 61), Ramsey, Monreal; Ozil, Sanchez (Iwobi, 67); Welbeck
Everton (4-3-3) Robles; Holgate, Jagielka, Williams, Baines; Gueye (Barry, 45), Schneiderlin, Davies (Barkley, 25); Valencia, Lukaku, Mirallas
MoM: Ozil
Rating: 7
