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Arsenal are out of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) after drawing 0-0 with Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium and losing 1-2 on aggregate. The Gunners needed to score just one goal to progress into the final and face Manchester United.
Although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe came close to scoring, Arsenal simply failed to find a breakthrough against Unai Emery's side.
The former Sevilla manager is yet to lose in the Europa League this season. If Villarreal do beat the Red Devils in Gdansk later this month, the Spanish tactician could lift his fourth Europa League trophy.
Here are five talking points from the draw.
#5 Samuel Chukwueze's injury is a huge loss for Villarreal
Samuel Chukwueze was the most creative player in the Villarreal team, but he soon signaled for a change and had to be stretchered off in the 29th minute.
While it was not immediately known what injury he had suffered, the 21-year-old has been in good form in Europe, scoring one goal and providing four assists in the last 10 Europa League matches.
In the previous game against Arsenal, Chukwueze set up the Yellow Submarines' first goal, which Manu Trigueros converted. His injury left a huge void in the La Liga team as they failed to score at the Emirates Stadium.
Villarreal will hope that Chukwueze's injury is not serious and that he could be fit to play against Manchester United in the Europa League final.
#4 Arsenal welcome players back from injury
Kieran Tierney made his first appearance on Thursday after missing the last seven games.
The Scotland international was initially thought to be out for the rest of the season, but his return from injury is a timely one, considering there are still four Premier League games left to be played.
Meanwhile, Alexandre Lacazette, who had a hamstring issue, started from the bench and came on as a substitute in the 80th minute. The French striker is currently the Gunners' top scorer with 13 goals in the Premier League and three goals in the Europa League.
However, Villarreal defended well and prevented Lacazette from scoring.
#3 Arsenal are likely to miss out on next season's European football
A goalless draw with Villarreal means that Arsenal are the only English team in European competition to not qualify for this season's final despite making it to the semi-final stage.
Chelsea and Manchester City are through to the finals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) after overcoming their opponents Real Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain, respectively. Meanwhile, Manchester United have also beaten AS Roma to make it into the UEL final.
Arsenal were poor and looked relatively lackluster throughout the full 90 minutes. Considering that they are 9th in the Premier League table, the Gunners are nowhere close to qualifying for next season's UCL or UEL.
It's been five years since Arsenal have missed out on UCL. This time around, it appears extremely likely that they will be out of the UEL too.
#2 Villarreal qualify for their first Europa League final
Under Emery, Villarreal have qualified for the Europa League final for the first time in their history.
While it was not the best performance from the Yellow Submarines, two goals in the first leg was enough for them to get past Arsenal.
Emery certainly did not enjoy the best of relationships with the Gunners during his time in charge at the club. However, from his point of view, it was a delightful and rewarding return to the Emirates Stadium.
As things stand, Villarreal are currently 6th in the La Liga table and will qualify for next season's UEL. However, if they beat Manchester United in the final, they will make it into the UCL.
#1 Mikel Arteta's future at Arsenal is on the line
Arsenal have failed to score in 10 home games in all competitions in a single season for the first time in the club's history. They duly deserved to be knocked out of the UEL by Villarreal.
Mikel Arteta might have led Arsenal to two trophies (FA Cup and English Super Cup), but his lack of experience as a manager is starting to show.
Former Arsenal player Martin Keown blamed Arteta for the defeat as he said:
"He [Arteta] was outsmarted by the previous manager which is a bit of an embarrassment. We looked lost.
We havent really laid a glove on them and we havent gone down fighting."
They seemed almost prepared to let the game flow away & I think that does come from the manager."
With rumors surrounding Arteta's future, it looks like losing to Villarreal might be the final nail in the coffin for the Arsenal manager.
