Burnley is an awfully long way from Baku but Arsenal’s final stop on the road towards Azerbaijan’s capital and the Europa League final was not quite the inconveniently meaningless detour it might have initially appeared.
Quite apart from rubber-stamping Unai Emery’s team’s fifth-place finish, it confirmed Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is a striker to be reckoned with and young Joe Willock surely has an exciting future.
While the Gabon striker scored twice – as well as hitting the woodwork and missing a sitter – to end up joint-top of the division’s scoring charts with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané on 22 goals, Willock impressed in an attacking midfield role. It is early days and he is a different type of player but maybe, just maybe, Arsenal have a long-term successor to the departing Aaron Ramsey in their ranks.
“We didn’t have enough points to be in the top four so we cannot be 100% happy but we are improving,” said Emery, whose side will need to beat Chelsea in Baku to qualify for the Champions League next season. Otherwise it’s back to the Europa once more, although at least fifth position avoids any chance of the need to enter a qualifying round in July.
More immediately, Arsenal’s manager is waiting to discover if he can play his Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan in Azerbaijan. “It’s a political issue,” Emery said. “We don’t know. We’re doing all we possibly can. I don’t know what the solution is. I would prefer to play closer to home and move more supporters with us. I don’t know why they decided to play there.”
He made nine changes from the side which overcame Valencia in Thursday’s semi-final. Only Nacho Monreal and Aubameyang retained their places in a slightly experimental XI with the 19-year-old Willock making his first league start of the season.
Within minutes, Aubameyang had struck the woodwork after meeting the fallout from a free-kick won by Willock but conceding goals has been much more of a problem than scoring them for Arsenal this season – particularly on the Premier League road, where they have kept only one clean sheet all season.
Ashley Barnes highlighted this vulnerability as he headed narrowly wide before an unmarked Chris Wood saw his low shot rebound off the inside of a post. Arsenal were out of defensive synchronicity and it was probably a blessing in disguise when injury prompted the replacement of the rather wobbly centre-half Konstantinos Mavropanos with Laurent Koscielny.
Arsenal’s collective concentration seemed to be wavering in the glorious sunshine illuminating the Pennine moors above the stadium and the cricket match unfolding on an adjacent pitch visible in a gap between Turf Moor’s stands.
Bar the moment, late in the first half, when Willock swivelled sharply and shot just wide, Sean Dyche’s side were in control. “It was as good as we’d played all season,” said Burnley’s manager, “but Arsenal were really strong in the second half.”
In other words Aubameyang woke up. His 21st goal of the domestic campaign arrived following a ghastly Ben Mee error, involving the home defender permitting Jark Cork’s backpass to squirm free from beneath his boot.
Aubameyang revelled in darting into the gap and placing a low shot beyond Tom Heaton’s grasp. Goal No 22 was a close-range volley lashed home after his powerful connection with Alex Iwobi’s pass.
Barnes reduced the deficit with a thumping header before Aubameyang faced a moment of destiny. He could and should have secured that golden boot when Mkhitaryan slid the ball across the box but, at full stretch, he stabbed a shot tantalisingly wide with an open goal at his mercy.
Peter Crouch has a habit of scoring on the final day of the season and, having stepped off the bench he sent a half-volley flashing goalwards only for it to be deflected to safety by his teammate James Tarkowski. The scene was set for a visiting substitute, Eddie Nketiah, to enjoy the final word, pushing the ball through Heaton’s legs for his first Premier League goal, deep in stoppage time.
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