Arsenal 0-0 Villarreal: 5 talking points as Gunners lose semi-final battle against their former manager | UEFA Europa League 2020-21
Arsenal are out of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) after drawing 0-0 with Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium and losing 1-2 on aggregate. The Gunners needed to score just one goal to progress into the final and face Manchester United.
Although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe came close to scoring, Arsenal simply failed to find a breakthrough against Unai Emery's side.
The former Sevilla manager is yet to lose in the Europa League this season. If Villarreal do beat the Red Devils in Gdansk later this month, the Spanish tactician could lift his fourth Europa League trophy.
Here are five talking points from the draw.
#5 Samuel Chukwueze's injury is a huge loss for Villarreal
Samuel Chukwueze was the most creative player in the Villarreal team, but he soon signaled for a change and had to be stretchered off in the 29th minute.
While it was not immediately known what injury he had suffered, the 21-year-old has been in good form in Europe, scoring one goal and providing four assists in the last 10 Europa League matches.
In the previous game against Arsenal, Chukwueze set up the Yellow Submarines' first goal, which Manu Trigueros converted. His injury left a huge void in the La Liga team as they failed to score at the Emirates Stadium.
Villarreal will hope that Chukwueze's injury is not serious and that he could be fit to play against Manchester United in the Europa League final.
#4 Arsenal welcome players back from injury
Kieran Tierney made his first appearance on Thursday after missing the last seven games.
The Scotland international was initially thought to be out for the rest of the season, but his return from injury is a timely one, considering there are still four Premier League games left to be played.
Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette, who had a hamstring issue, started from the bench and came on as a substitute in the 80th minute. The French striker is currently the Gunners' top scorer with 13 goals in the Premier League and three goals in the Europa League.
However, Villarreal defended well and prevented Lacazette from scoring.