Arsenal to top Europa League group despite defeat in Cologne
A much-changed side could not respond after the German outfit converted a contentious penalty
Arsenal fell to defeat at Cologne on Thursday night but will still progress into the knockout stages of the Europa League as Group H winners.
An uninspiring evening at the impressive RheinEnergieStadion saw Bundesliga’s bottom club secure a 1-0 win through Sehrou Guirassy’s second-half penalty to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
On the back of a morale-boosting victory over north London neighbours Tottenham at the weekend, Arsene Wenger’s second-string could not maintain the feel-good factor.
What they said
Tweet of the match
Star man – Guirassy
No Arsenal player deserved the accolade of man of the match following a fairly dismal collective outing and, while a much-changed Cologne side did well to keep the Gunners at bay, Guirassy was the man who made the difference. The 21-year-old forward won and converted the penalty which handed Cologne three points to keep their Europa League campaign alive until the final game and give the struggling Bundesliga outfit just a second home win of the campaign.
Moment of the match
Francis Coquelin has never scored a goal for Arsenal despite making over 150 appearances for the club. But the France midfielder will never come closer than his first-half chance here which saw him strike the post. Had he finally broken that duck things could have turned out differently for the visitors.
Data point
Arsenal had scored in each of their previous 13 away games in European competition, last failing to find the net in September 2014 v Borussia Dortmund.
Player ratings
Who’s up next?
Cologne v Hertha Berlin (Bundesliga, November 26)
Burnley v Arsenal (Premier League, November 26)
