Arsenal are seeking to put an end to their semi-final woes in recent seasons as they look to get to the final of a cup competition for the first time in almost six years.
Perhaps Unai Emery can be held accountable by Arsenal.
Since being fired by the club in 2019, the Spaniard has appeared to take advantage of every chance to outdo his previous employers.
Arsenal Semi-Final Woes Started In 2021
He made his first trip back to north London when Villarreal played the Gunners in the Europa League semi-finals in May 2021. He loved the competition as much as a child.
Mikel Arteta was “devastated” by a goalless draw in the return leg after Arsenal lost the first leg 2-1 in Spain.
See Also: Rosenior Set To Offer Two Chelsea Outcasts A Lifeline
Arteta has guided the Gunners into four two-leg semifinals, the first of which was that, having lost all of them.
They faced Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final four in 2022. Despite playing for over an hour with 10 men, Arsenal managed to hold on to a 0-0 draw at Anfield before losing 2-0 at home courtesy the late Diogo Jota’s brace.
The Gunners were on the verge of a final both domestically and in Europe last season, however, the semi-final curse intensified.
Arsenal lost 2-0 to Newcastle in the home match in the Carabao Cup after missing an astounding number of chances. Arteta’s team were destroyed by the same result at St. James’ Park.
Defeat To PSG Following Newcastle Loss
The most well-known of the semi-final losses came against Paris Saint-Germain later in the season.
After defeating Real Madrid, confidence was high, but a 1-0 home loss to PSG resulted in a 3-1 aggregate loss, ending the Champions League run.
That brings Arsenal’s total number of games in the two-leg semifinals under Arteta to eight. Six losses, two draws, no victories, and just two goals were scored.
The first leg of the Premier League leaders’ Carabao Cup match against Chelsea begins tonight at Stamford Bridge, giving them their latest opportunity to snap that duck.
Arteta Reflects On The Newcastle Loss
According to The Evening Standard, while reflecting on the Newcastle tie last season, Arteta said on Tuesday: “Hopefully we’ll learn from last year because it was painful, especially the manner that the games went and the amount of chances that we missed not to go through.
“But hopefully this year we are better and especially more efficient.”
COMMENTS