Arsenal turmoil, Ozil dig - FOUR things you missed from disastrous Europa League defeat
ARSENAL suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat at the hands of Belarus minnows BATE Borisov on Thursday night to leave their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread.
You probably already know that Mesut Ozil was left out of the matchday squad by manager Unai Emery yet again.
But you may well have missed how Arsenal’s highest-paid player responded to the snub.
Fans took to social media to condemn Emery's treatment of Ozil, with one particular supporter taking to Instagram in a show of support for the German.
"We miss you bro,” they said. “Keep fighting and stay strong. Show Emrey (sic), dumb pundits and whole world they are wrong."
Ozil liked the post in what could be seen as a dig at his boss. However, Emery tried to explain his decision as he said Ozil was not fit despite his player earlier posting pictures of himself in training and appearing to be in good condition.
“The players we didn’t bring in the squad were because Aaron Ramsey did not train with us and Sokratis [Papastathopoulos] only started training yesterday and today – I don’t think it’s enough," Emery said. "Mesut is the same.”
Ozil liked an Instagram post from a fan showing his support for the Arsenal outcast (Image: INSTAGRAM)
Mesut Ozil was dropped from the squad despite training before the game (Image: GETTY)
Writing on the wall?
The omens do not look good for Arsenal after this loss.
For they have been eliminated from each of their last six two-legged ties in European competition after losing the first leg.
Not since winning 5-0 in the second leg against Porto after a 2-1 defeat in the first in 2010have they recovered to go through.
That being said, Emery’s side will be favourites for the return leg at the Emirates next week.
Perhaps even more embarrassing for the Gunners is they became the first English side BATE have beaten at home in the entire club’s history.
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Emery has led Arsenal to three defeats in their last four away games in all competitions (Image: GETTY)
Away-day blues
Emery’s woes away from home continue - and they have now lost three of their last four on the road in all competitions.
Incredibly, that is as many away defeats as they suffered in their first 14 games after Emery took charge.
They are also yet to keep a single clean sheet on the road in any competition this term.
Luckily for the Gunners, their next three games are at home but they face Tottenham in their next away fixture and high-flying Wolves in the one after that.
Alexandre Lacazette was shown a straight red card against BATE (Image: GETTY)
Lac-lustre display
Alexandre Lacazette had a night to forget and he was shown a straight red card when he took out his frustrations by needlessly lashing out at Alexsandar Filipovic in the 85th minute.
The Frenchman became the first Arsenal player to be sent off in a European game since Laurent Koscielny saw red against Bayern Munich in March 2017.
But the striker was clearly distraught and moved to apologise to fans on Twitter.
He said: “Letting the team down like that is the worst feeling..
“I should have stayed calm but it’s not always easy.. Sorry *sad face emoji*