Rennes 3-1 Arsenal: 3 reasons why the Gunners were beaten | UEFA Europa League 2018-19

Rennes dealt a huge dent in Arsenal’s European adventure with a convincing 3-1 victory over the Gunners. Arsenal got off to a perfect start when Alex Iwobi scored in the 3rd minute and it looked as if it was a routine night for Unai Emery’s men. But things turned drastically around for the North London club when Sokratis Papastathapolous was shown a red card in the 41st minute.

Benjamin Bourigeaud equalised for the hosts and after that, it was just one-way traffic with the home team enjoying the one-man advantage over the hapless Gunners. The second half showed many weaknesses in the Gunners' line up with a great resemblance to the Wenger era where no one on the pitch turned up to take leadership.

Nacho Monreal was guilty of an own goal and Ismaila Sarr’s header in the dying minutes of the match gave a huge advantage to the French side going into the away match at the Emirates.

Here are the three reasons why Arsenal was thrashed comprehensively.

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#1 Sokratis’ controversial sending-off

Red!

Sokratis got his first yellow for a lunge on Ben Arfa during the initial moments of the match. The tackle looked like a soft one, and on another day he could have just gotten a warning. The second was for a foul on Sarr whose fast runs were a nightmare for the Arsenal defence.

Arsenal needed Sokratis’ leadership skills in the second half as the defence was completely opened by the Rennes forwards. But unluckily for Emery, there was no one around to plug the holes in the leaky defence. Koscielny was fighting a lone battle which was never enough on a tough European night.

If Arsenal is not able to turn around the tie at the Emirates, the Sokratis red card will be one which will stay in the minds of fans for a long long time.

#2 Aubameyang fails to turn up

He never really controlled the ball to let the midfield join him in the attack

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was making all the headlines when the Gunners missed a late penalty in Wembley during the North London derby. But today he failed to prove his worth as the top scorer for Arsenal. He never really controlled the ball to let the midfield join him in the attack. In fact, he was guilty of putting his team in trouble by losing the ball in dangerous areas.

When Arsenal was reduced to 10 men, the onus was on Aubameyang to keep hold of the ball for as long as possible, but in the second half, he looked more and more pathetic. He will likely miss the encounter with Manchester United as Lacazette provides much more work rate needed for tough encounters.

Mesut Ozil and Mkhitaryan were not able to put their shooting boots on in the absence of Aubameyang’s form. Arsenal was a free-flowing team in the initial part of the season but are looking lost at the business end of the season.

#3 Lack of intensity in away games

Rennes asked some tough questions about Arsenal’s desire to fight for a trophy this season

Arsenal’s away form is one of the worst when compared to the Premier League top 6. And their European away form is not better. They lost 1-0 away to BATE Borisov and Rennes asked some tough questions about Arsenal’s desire to fight for a trophy this season.

Ismaila Sarr’s header late in the game reminded the fans of the Wenger era where the defence broke down completely in absence of a leader.

Unai Emery would have settled for a 2-1 defeat, but after the match, he would feel pretty lucky to have lost only 3-1 as Rennes had many chances to put the tie to bed before the 2nd round at the Emirates.

Packing the midfield and not giving a release outlet to the defenders was a big mistake by Emery, and his lack of reinforcements in the attacking third in January came to haunt him on a tough night in France.