Chelsea legend Eidur Gudjohnsen condemned Mesut Ozil’s attitude when Arsenal beat 1-4 of Chelsea in the 2018/19 Europa League final on Thursday (5/30). The Gunners were helpless to face Chelsea’s explosive attack in the second half, an absolute defeat.
The match was Arsenal’s last chance to return to the Champions League next season. Having failed to secure the top four of the Premier League, winning the Europa League was the only way left for Arsenal, but they failed to use it.
Chosen to play since the early minutes, Ozil once again failed to make a significant impact. He was pulled out when the game left 15 minutes and the score was 4-1 for Chelsea’s victory.
Ozil’s attitude when he left the field was considered embarrassing
Considering that his team was in a bad state of defeat, Ozil should know he had to get off the field quickly. Instead, he walked slowly, as if waiting for applause from their supporters.
“One thing you can say to me, if you are an Arsenal coach, you are 4-1 behind in the final, you pull Ozil out and he goes the slowest time like waiting for the apparatus to stand,” Gudjohnsen told BT Sport.
“Sorry, if it were me, I would be very embarrassed. [Should have] lowered my head and I ran quickly leaving the field.”
“He is a great player, outstanding quality, but as a coach I cannot see such an attitude on my team,” he continued.
This defeat was Emery’s first defeat in the Europa League final. He successfully won three editions of the Europa League in a row while still handling Sevilla. Unfortunately, now the magic touch is fading.
Not only that, defeat means Arsenal will play in the Europa League again next season, precisely in three consecutive seasons. For a team as big as Arsenal, only playing in the Europa League in three consecutive seasons is clearly a failure.
Unfortunately, Emery might not be able to develop his team instantly. This failure proves the quality of Arsenal, and that they need to develop. However, he was only provided a thin budget in the transfer market this time.
