Atletico Madrid advanced to the Europe League final 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 victory over Arsenal at the Wanda Metropolitano on Thursday.
The defeat will prevent Arsene Wenger from having European silverware in his CV as his side crashed out of the Europa League.
Diego Costa returned for Atletico to punish the Gunners with a composed chip shot on the brink of half-time. Antoine Griezmann slipped the clever pass through to Costa after coming close with a vicious strike from a tight angle.
Needing a goal to force extra-time, Arsenal pushed forward in the second-half with Aaron Ramsey coming close to equalising, only for him to fluff his lines with goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Oblak did well to palm a low drive from Granit Xhaka around the post and Griezmann forced a save from Ospina at the other end.
Although Arsenal were making all the play in the final minutes, they lacked the end product. They poured men forward in a desperate attempt to get the equaliser but failed to find the goal to force the game into extra-time.
The loss also means Arsenal will miss out on Champions League football for the second straight season.
Arsenal player ratings
David Ospina- 5/10
Ospina made some good saves but went down early for the goal.
Hector Bellerin- 4/10
Another tough night for the Arsenal right-back. His decision-making has been awful this season and he was caught napping for Costa’s goal. Got forward well but with very little intent and desire.
Shkodran Mustafi- 5/10
Mustafi was caught out several times on the night. He was given a tough time by Costa and the German defender did little to keep the cunning Spaniard at bay.
Laurent Koscielny- N/A
Tough to give him any marks as he ruptured his Achilles in the 9th minute of the game. It was sad to see Koscielny in pain as the Frenchman was stretchered off to a thundering applause from both sets of fans and was replaced by Calum Chambers.
Nacho Monreal- 5/10
Monreal endured a relatively calmer night. Defensively he was naïve and offered very little on the attacking front. Got into good attacking positions but his deliveries from the left were very disappointing.
Aaron Ramsey- 5/10
Ramsey never looked to be in the game. Got into some decent positions but hardly threatened.
Granit Xhaka- 4/10
Barring one decent effort which was saved by Oblak, Xhaka never impacted the proceedings.
Jack Wilshere- 4/10
Wilshere worked diligently and tried hard to create things for Arsenal. Sadly, it wasn’t just his day. When Arsenal needed his invention, the midfielder was not found. Picked up a booking for a silly challenge on Gabi.
Danny Welbeck- 5/10
A lot was expected from Welbeck as he has been in good form lately. But he was anonymous on the night and apart from few lively moments, the forward never influenced the game.
Mesut Ozil- 4/10
A night to forget for Mesut Ozil. The game simply passed by him as the German failed to contribute to the attack. He was just a shadow of his former self against Atletico.
Alexandre Lacazette- 5/10
Lacazette lacked service from his teammates. He had a good chance in the first half but spurned it. The French striker made some good runs hoping the ball would arrive at his feet but it never did.
Substitutes
Calum Chambers- 7/10
The only player that deserves some credit has to be Chambers. He replaced the injured Koscielny in the 9th minute and set out on a mission to stop Costa and co. While he made some terrific blocks and interceptions, it was unfair for the former Southampton man to end up on the losing side.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan- 4/10
Came on for Wilshere but leaving aside few glimpses of his quality, the Armenian never threatened.