Twitter reacts as Arsenal lose 1-0 to BATE Borisov in Europa League
Arsenal suffered a frustrating 1-0 loss away to BATE Borisov in the first-leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie. Gunners boss Unai Emery named a strong squad for the encounter, but it still was not enough to get the club the needed result.
The likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexandre Lacazette and Alex Iwobi were all named in Arsenal’s starting XI, but Mesut Ozil once again missed out on the travelling squad. The English side started the game the better team and dominated the opening exchanges.
Arsenal carved out their first big chance in just the second minute, Mkhitaryan's effort being saved by BATE goalkeeper Scherbitski. The English side continued to pile the pressure, but it was the home team who opened the scoring against the run of play.
A lofted free-kick into the Gunners’ box was met with a powerful header by Stanislav Dragun to put BATE 1-0 up. Despite being inferior in terms of quality, the Belarusian side managed to hold their own to record a very famous victory.
For much of the game, Arsenal lacked the cutting edge in front of goal, with Lacazette often being isolated. The French striker’s night went from bad to worse when he received a red card in the dying embers of the game for lashing out at BATE’s Filipovic.
Both teams will face off once again in a week’s time at the Emirates, with BATE set to take a 1-0 advantage to London.
Arsenal will have it all to do, especially with the Europa League presenting the club’s best opportunity to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Meanwhile, Twitter has been buzzing with trolls, as football fans digest Arsenal’s frustrating loss to the Belarusian side.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best tweets about the game: