Arsenal - Villarreal

In what was always going to be a tricky match, Arsenal needed a midfield that could dominate the game by taking the sting out of it when necessary and push on for a goal if called upon.

Unfortunately Martin Odegaard didn’t really do much of either as he spent much of the game drifting in and out of action.

While the Real Madrid loanee is perfectly impressive with his touches and short passes, he often struggles to take a hold of games and Thursday’s clash was no exception.

With just one goal and no assists in his last 10 games for Arsenal, Bukayo Saka went into Thursday’s match well aware of the fact that he was due a good performance for his club. Unfortunately it didn’t come.

Over the course of the game the Arsenal winger managed just three crosses from open play, not a single shot on target and just two key passes. Which is well below the standards the young player has set for himself in North London.

In a match that Arsenal could have undoubtedly won with a bit of precision and accuracy in the final third, Saka characterised a clumsy and error-prone performance.

In only his second start since coming back from fighting Malaria, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s inclusion on Thursday night seemed very bizarre since the player certainly didn’t look like his usual self.

Indeed, that much was evident from the manner in which the Gabon international struggled to create chances and, ultimately, score the goals necessary to win the game and reach the final.

Over the course of the match Aubameyang had just 14 touches of the ball and managed just three shots towards goal before he was subbed off after the 79th minute.