Villarreal set up a Europa League final as they drew 0-0 with Arsenal in a defeat that leaves Mikel Arteta's side needing a miraculous run of league results to avoid ending their 25-year run of involvement in European football.
Needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit to reach the final against Manchester United, Arsenal had the better of the game's chances with Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang going closest but rarely created the sort of consistent opportunities needed to win at the Emirates Stadium.
AUBA. POST. AGAIN. ❌ pic.twitter.com/48vXJDEgG4
— Champions League on CBS Sports (@UCLonCBSSports) May 6, 2021
But how did each player perform in this one? Here are our player ratings for the match for every starter, substitute and manager.
Arsenal ratings
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Bernd Leno | 90 | His distribution with his feet was as bad as it has ever been and there was more than one heart-in-mouth moment when a pass came back to him. | 4 |
(DEF) Hector Bellerin | 90 | A shocking performance from the outset. Bellerin consistently gave the ball away when under little pressure, seemed to be running in the wrong direction when the ball came to him. | 3 |
(DEF) Rob Holding | 90 | He hardly radiates authority in defense but Holding made his share of smart headers when Villarreal looked to release Paco Alcacer or Gerard Moreno in behind. He had two headers off target in the second half and perhaps should have tested Geronimo Rulli with one. | 5 |
(DEF) Pablo Mari | 90 | There was no cause for complaint in Mari's work, he defended well and passed the ball neatly. There is authority to how he plays. | 6 |
(DEF) Kieran Tierney | 80 | An 11th-hour introduction after Granit Xhaka's muscle issue in the warmup, Tierney looked some way short of his best self but still defended with strength and diligence. He gave all that could be asked of him. | 6 |
(MID) Thomas Partey | 90 | Partey may be the complete package in midfield, but that does not mean Arsenal only need one midfielder. It may have worked against Sheffield United to have the Ghanaian hold court in the middle, but on Thursday he was consistently surrounded by two or more Villarreal midfielders who he simply could not barge his way through. Panicked, his passing was sloppy and he very nearly volleyed one into Leno's net. | 3 |
(MID) Martin Odegaard | 65 | What has happened to the elegant playmaker who arrived from Real Madrid? He looked lost as one of Arteta's "free eights," his passing range nowhere to be seen as he displayed a worrying tendency to look backwards in good positions. | 4 |
(MID) Emile Smith Rowe | 90 | A glorious chance was wasted early in the second half when Smith Rowe lobbed wide with the goalkeeper out of position, but he was one of the few bright sparks even after the interval. He buzzed with quality, always wanted the ball and never stinted in his tracking back. | 6 |
(FWD) Bukayo Saka | 90 | Having carried such a weight throughout this season you sensed that this was the night where Saka could give no more. When he managed to attack the full-back his touches were slightly too heavy and the final ball was not quite there. | 4 |
(FWD) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 80 | Utterly starved of service -- he went 22 minutes without touching the ball early in the second half -- but whenever Arsenal advanced high enough up the pitch to provide for him he got into good positions and went close. A lucky spin from a first half volley or a second-half header might have changed the game. | 5 |
(FWD) Nicolas Pepe | 90 | Another who looked dangerous in flashes without taking the contest by the scruff of its neck as he has on other occasions in this competition. There were flashes and he created two chances but it was not good enough. | 4 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Gabriel Martinelli | Odegaard, 66' | A punch of energy in the early phases after his introduction, but he was effectively marked by the veteran Mario Gaspar. | 5 |
Willian | Tierney, 81' | The story of his season, he simply did not offer anything to Arsenal's attack. | 5 |
Alexandre Lacazette | Aubameyang, 81' | Like Willian, he struggled to get on the ball or to do anything when it did come his way. | 5 |
| Eddie Nketiah | Bellerin, 90' | He was introduced too late to affect this tie. | N/A |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Mikel Arteta | 4 | Yet again his team started in a fashion that suggested they did not really know what the plan was and lacked any intensity in their attack. His substitutions did not particularly impact the contest in any way and it felt bizarre to take Aubameyang out even if he was still struggling for full sharpness. | 2 |
