Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea - 3 reasons why Arsenal lost the match | 2018/2019 Europa League final
It's official, there would be no Champions League football for Arsenal next season, as the club squandered its one shot at gatecrashing Europe's elite with their 4-1 loss to Chelsea in the Europa League final.
The Gunners' underperformance in the league saw them finish in 5th place and outside the Champions League places. The Europa League offered a second shot at glory, but the Londoners failed to take it.
Goals from Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard and Pedro were enough to sink Arsenal to defeat, rendering Nigerian international Alex Iwobi's well taken goal nothing more than a mere consolation.
This was arguably Arsenal's biggest match in a decade, with the must-win nature of the fixture adding extra importance. However, the club faltered massively. In this piece, we shall be taking a look at three reasons why Arsenal lost the 2019 Europa League final.
#3 Ozil failed to provide a creative spark
It is safe to say that Mesut Ozil is the biggest player in the current squad, with the World Cup winner having massive experience across the international and club scene.
He arrived at Arsenal from Real Madrid as the club's most expensive player in history and despite initially impressing, the former German international has seen his perfomance levels drop off over the last few years.
The 30-year-old has faced criticisms over his poor work rate and seeming disinterestedness at the club, which is rather irksome because he is the highest paid player at the club.
The Europa League final offered an opportunity for Ozil to step up to the plate and grab the ante, but he failed to do so, proving nothing more than a mere spectator for his duration on the pitch.
On his day, Ozil is one of the best playmakers in the world and Arsenal needed all of his creative genius to help break down the Chelsea backline, but did not happen as he went missing and failed to provide the creative spark his side needed until his departure from the field in the second half.
Goals win matches and more often than not, it is the job of the playmaker in the team to provide the creativity for scoring goals but Ozil failed in his duties and this played a role in seeing Arsenal suffer defeat in Baku.