Despite needing a goal to force extra-time against Atletico Madrid, Arsene Wenger refused Shkodran Mustafi's request to go up front.
Arsenal entered the Europa League semi-final second goal requiring to score at Wanda Metropolitano, after Antoine Griezmann's strike at the Emirates.
The away goal escaped the visitors with former Chelsea star Diego Costa firing his team into the final.
And it's been revealed that Arsenal's German defender took matters into his own hands by wanting to play as a striker for the remaining minutes. But Wenger was having none of it.
Wenger has just three games left as Arsenal manager before leaving at the end of the season.
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And he's 'very sad and very disappointed' that there will be no fairy tale ending to his tenure.
"I am like the team - very sad and very disappointed," the Frenchman said after the 2-1 aggregate defeat via Guardian.
"I am even very frustrated, as well, because when you go out of a competition and you had the performances over the 180 minutes that we had, it is very difficult to take. For the club, there is now some time to think about what to do for next season."
Wenger added: "I think there are some good ingredients in our team and they will bounce back. These players have quality and, with the right additions in the summer, the team will compete next year.
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"I have no plans at the moment. I have to recover first from a huge disappointment.
"I'm very, very sad to leave the club with that exit. I will take some time to recover from this. The game can be very cruel; sometimes it is very nice. But the suffering is very strong tonight."
Next up for Arsenal; Burnley at home.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Atletico Madrid, Wenger, Arsenal, Mustafi
