Opportunity Missed: Wenger Concedes That 1-1 Draw Against Atletico Was 'the Worst Possible Result'

Arsene Wenger's side failed to beat ten man Atletico Madrid in the Europa League on Thursday night, after Antoine Griezmann struck a devastating late blow to

Arsene Wenger's side failed to beat ten man Atletico Madrid in the Europa League on Thursday night, after Antoine Griezmann struck a devastating late blow to give the visitors an all important away goal.

Arsenal have it all to do next week - given they will now have to score at least once against a stubborn Atletico defence who've conceded just four at home in La Liga all season, but it could have been so different for Wenger's men. The Gunners were dominant, yet missed a host of chances and failed to take advantage of the extra man. 

Arsenal 1-1 Atlético Madrid FT:

Shots: 28-6
Pass accuracy: 89%-69%
Chances created: 25-2
Possession: 76%-24%

Absolute dominance and nothing to show for it. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/0vQO0BKGH2

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 26, 2018

Wenger spoke to BT Sport after the game, saying that he was disappointed Arsenal had been pegged back, but he was still optimistic for the second leg: "Looking at the performance we had and the way the game went, it was the worst possible result.

"We have to go there in a positive mood and qualify over there. We have to recover from a disappointment and prepare for the next one.

"It felt like an opportunity missed. We could already be qualified but it didn't happen. Their goalkeeper made many saves and you could see that they have the quality up front to take advantage.

Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

"We knew if we did not score the second one it was important we did not concede."

He continued, "You don't look at the statistics, you look at your performance and we know we can score anywhere. 

"First recover, because the players have given a lot, and then see what we can do over there. We have to go there with absolute belief to do it."

Obviously not satisfied with this draw after we dominated over 90 minutes. We should have scored more goals - BUT we can do better next week 🙏🏼⚽ Thanks for your amazing support at the Emirates tonight! ❤👏🏼 #YaGunnersYa #COYG #UEL @Arsenal pic.twitter.com/o8MqJPuu5r

— Mesut Özil (@M10) April 26, 2018

Arsenal will be hoping they can do better next week and repair the damage done, to give Wenger a dream end to his 22 years in charge. Next up for the Gunners, though, is a trip to Manchester United on Sunday.