Piers Morgan leads backlash against Arsenal after Europa League exit
Arsenal have failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Piers Morgan has led Arsenal fans’ anger on social media after they crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Gunners lost their semi-final 2-1 on aggregate to Villarreal to send Unai Emery’s side to the final to face Manchester United.
Arsenal’s defeat comes as a huge blow to manager Mikel Arteta as the Europa League trophy was the only way the club could qualify for European football next season.
The club are currently ninth in the Premier League and so cannot qualify and next season will be the first time Arsenal have not competed in Europe for 25 years.
Supporters were understandably angry and presenter Morgan hit out at Arteta.
Morgan said: “Why does Mikel Arteta deserve to continue as manager? This season has been a total disaster, we’re playing dreadful football, and we just got kicked out of Europe by the guy he replaced. Humiliating.”
The backlash for the boss and the team came thick and fast on Twitter.
One fan said: “Mikel Arteta should be sacked right now via a text message and told not to report to work tomorrow. I have never seen a worse Arsenal side in years.”
While another added: “Arsenal are f***ing sh**.”
And a third said: “Put that atrocious semi-final to one side for one second, Arteta has shown the worst league form in 20+ years, the worst home record, the worst attacking numbers of any season of note and sets a new record for meediness every 90 mins.”
When facing the press after the defeat, Arteta said he and the team were ‘devastated’ at the result.
He said: “We are devastated, really disappointed.
“We know how much the Europa League meant to the club and to the fans. It’s a huge blow. I feel the pressure all the time because I want to do as good as I can for the team.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments