Arsene Wenger will officially leave Arsenal at the end of the season with no silverware in his last season and no Champions League football for the future as they were knocked out of the Europa League by Atletico Madrid.
Wenger surprised everyone last month by confirming that after 22 years in charge of Arsenal he would be leaving in the summer. With the season virtually over already for them they knew only a Europa League win would let their legendary boss go out on a high.
Arsenal were at home for the first leg and were given an early boost went Atleti went down to 10 men but in typical Atleti fashion they stood firm and ended up drawing the game 1-1 despite the Gunners dominance.
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That meant the English side needed a goal in Madrid on Thursday night. The Spanish side were without their manager on the touchline but did have Diego Costa back after injury.
And typically Costa was the man who made the difference. The former Chelsea forward had a habit of scoring against Wenger's side when he was in England and on the verge of half-time he put Simeone's side ahead, a lead they would never give away.
It's not good news for Arsenal but for Simeone it's his chance to win a fifth major trophy since becoming manager of the Spanish capital side, and he has also taken his team to two Champions League finals.
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El Cholo's side won the Europa League last in 2012 when they beat Bilbao 3-0 in the final. This time they will play either Marseille or Red Bull Salzburg in the final, with the two sides locked at 2-2 at time of writing.
The other story for the final could be Fernando Torres making his last appearance for his boyhood club and winning his first trophy with them in the process.
For one man leaving the club he's synonymous with it could still be the fairytale ending, that man just won't be Arsene Wenger.
Featured Image Credit:Topics:Β Europa League, Atletico Madrid, Arsene Wenger, Diego Costa, Arsenal, Champions League, Diego Simeone
