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With the 2018/19 Premier League now done and dusted, one set of fans more than any others are probably left with a sense of regret and disappointment.
For Unai Emery’s Arsenal, 2018/19 has to go down as a huge missed opportunity. Although they may yet win the Europa League to qualify for next season’s Champions League, the Gunners have missed out on qualification through the league after they finished in 5th place, a point behind bitter rivals Tottenham.
It could’ve been so different, too. At numerous times during the season it looked like Arsenal were practically a shoe-in for a top four spot, and during the last few games in particular they had their chance to really claim their place – and unfortunately for Gunners fans they slipped up time and time again.
Here are 3 games which really cost Arsenal their chance at a top four place.
#1 vs. Brighton – 05/05/2019
We begin with the most recent – the result that essentially meant Arsenal had to hope for a miracle on the final day, with Spurs losing to Everton and Arsenal defeating Burnley and somehow managing an 8-goal swing over their bitter rivals in the process.
Realistically, it was never going to happen, but had the Gunners managed to defeat Brighton on the bank holiday weekend, they never would’ve needed such a result in the first place.
Unai Emery’s side were coming off 3 straight losses, but with Tottenham slipping up badly too – losing to Bournemouth a day prior – this was Arsenal’s chance to move within a point of them going into the final match.
Facing the Seagulls, who were safe at this stage with nothing to play for, at the Emirates Stadium, hardly seemed like the trickiest hurdle. And just 9 minutes into the game – when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dispatched a penalty – it looked like the Gunners would leap it easily.
But somehow Emery’s men began to stutter and never really got into a groove, and with Arsenal’s back line looking vulnerable, Brighton began to carve out some chances.
Even then though it didn’t look like they’d actually score – until Granit Xhaka made a ludicrous foul on Solly March in the penalty area. Glenn Murray casually dispatched the spot-kick, and suddenly the Gunners were back to square one.
Things became frantic from there as Arsenal threw everything they had at Brighton’s goal – but couldn’t get past the twin towers of Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk, as well as the Seagulls’ keeper Mat Ryan, who made some fantastic saves in the dying moments of the game. And with that, Arsenal had simply left themselves with too much to do on the final day to make the top four.
#2 vs. Crystal Palace – 04/21/2019
By the time late April rolled around, Arsenal had only lost one game at home all season – on the opening day to the defending champions Manchester City – and so it looked almost inevitable that they’d be able to beat struggling Crystal Palace to jump above Tottenham and into 3rd position – putting a 3-point cushion between themselves and fellow top-four contenders Chelsea.
In arguably one of their worst performances of the season though, it wasn’t meant to be. Palace took the lead in the 17th minute through an unlikely source, as Christian Benteke headed home from Luka Milivojevic’s free-kick to score his first goal in over a year.
Slack marking from Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi allowed him to get free – but Mustafi’s performance would only get worse from there.
Palace held on until half-time – when Unai Emery switched Konstantinos Mavropanos and Carl Jenkinson for Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alex Iwobi – and Iwobi soon had an impact, passing to Alexandre Lacazette who then set up Mesut Ozil for an equaliser. But around 15 minutes later, it became clear who Emery should’ve withdrawn during the break.
A long ball over the top should’ve been easy for Mustafi to deal with despite the fact that Wilfried Zaha was chasing him. But inexplicably, the German slowed his run down – perhaps figuring that keeper Bernd Leno would collect the ball – and allowed Zaha to charge past him to slot the ball into the net.
Palace added a third through James McArthur – once again due to slack defending from Arsenal from a set-piece – less than ten minutes later, and although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a consolation, his side couldn’t find an equaliser and missed out on some valuable points – largely through their own doing.
#3 vs. Tottenham – 03/02/2019
Unai Emery’s side were on a three-match winning streak going into their March meeting with bitter rivals Tottenham at Wembley, and with Spurs wobbling following back-to-back losses to Burnley and Chelsea, it seemed like Arsenal were catching them at just the right time; win, and the Gunners would close the gap between the two sides to just 1 point, and move into the top 4 in the process.
Sure enough, the Gunners got off to the best possible start when Aaron Ramsey finished a quick break that began with a Tottenham attack, rounding keeper Hugo Lloris to slot home before proclaiming Wembley to be “his” ground.
But despite largely dominating proceedings in the first half, Arsenal couldn’t double their lead – and Tottenham almost equalised, with only keeper Bernd Leno preventing it with a ludicrous double save from Christian Eriksen and then Moussa Sissoko.
Tottenham pushed back hard in the second half, but still seemed somewhat toothless. Lacazette then missed another gilt-edged chance to extend Arsenal’s lead, before things got controversial.
Tottenham sent a free-kick into the box, and in a huge error, Shkodran Mustafi decided to bundle Harry Kane over, forcing the referee to award a penalty – despite the fact that from some angles, Kane appeared to have been offside when the foul was made.
The England captain duly dispatched the spot-kick, but the drama wasn’t over. With just added time remaining, another controversial penalty was awarded – this time when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went down softly under a challenge from Davinson Sanchez.
The Gabonese striker stepped up himself to take the kick – but fired tamely at Hugo Lloris, who palmed it away.
Minutes later Lucas Torreira was sent off for a filthy challenge on Danny Rose, and the game eventually petered out to a 1-1 draw. It was perhaps a fair result, but due to the missed penalty it was definitely a blown chance for Arsenal, who never came quite as close to leapfrogging Tottenham for the rest of the season.
If anything, Gunners fans could well look back and come to the conclusion that it was Aubameyang’s missed penalty that cost them a top four spot.
