Arsenal are lucky to still be alive in Europe after Mikel Arteta disasterclass

Arsenal can count themselves extremely fortunate to have scored an away goal at La Ceramica after they were awarded a contentious second-half penalty, from which Nicolas Pepe scored what could prove a vital away goal.

The Premier League side fell behind inside just five minutes and Raul Albiol doubled the hosts' lead just shy of the half-hour mark.

To say the Gunners were under par on the night would be an understatement. Mikel Arteta's tactical experiment failed miserably and has only increased the calls for him to be sacked. On many occasions this season the 39-year-old has bemoaned his rotten luck but this time around, even he would have to admit he was extremely fortunate.

Bukayo Saka dug his boss and his team out of a hole when he engineered contact with Villarreal's Manu Trigueros inside the box with approximately 20 minutes remaining. Referee Artur Dias pointed to the spot handing Arsenal and Arteta a lifeline and route back into the tie.

The subject of Arteta's tactical choices has long divided the fanbase but his decision to play with a 'false nine' despite having Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli all on the bench might be his strangest decision yet at the club.

Whichever way you look at it, a Europa League semi-final doesn't feel like the right time to be experimenting with new systems. No matter how much he models himself on Pep Guardiola, Arsenal are no Manchester City so to try and replicate that shape with a much weaker group stinks of arrogance.

The manager defended that decision specifically post-match by saying Arsenal had worked on playing that way in training but even so, it was a huge risk to take on a night that meant so much and one that ultimately blew up in his face.

Unai Emery identified Arsenal's left side as a weakness and clearly instructed Juan Foyth to bomb forward from right-back in the knowledge that it would create an overload due to Granit Xhaka's reluctance to step forward. It was an obvious tactic applied by the former Gunners boss Unai Emery, but even still, Arteta refused to address the issue.

The Swiss international, to his credit, wasn't often exposed by the rapid Samuel Chukwueze but he and Dani Ceballos had to do more to prevent the opener.

He's a rookie manager still learning his trade and mistakes were always going to be a part of the 'process'. However, the alarming thing about it all is that he doesn't seem to be learning from them. The Gunners have often looked toothless in attack this season but never more so than Thursday night when they opted to start without a centre-forward.

The defensive improvement that was visible in the early months of his tenure is no longer there to see and the reality is, Arsenal have regressed.

Thursday night's game was a bloodbath of incompetence whichever way you look at it. The manager got it horribly wrong and the players failed to apply themselves. Arteta is extremely fortunate to still be alive in this tie but this is elite level football and there's only so many times he'll get away with making such glaringly obvious mistakes.