Nothing Is Straightforward for Arsenal These Days

The good news for Arsenal is that it only lost 2-1 in the first leg of its Europa League semifinal against Villarreal. It was a game of extraordinary shifts. In the end, Arsenal may have been a little disappointed, but a one-goal defeat represented a significant comeback and evidence of character and fighting spirit from a team that has often lacked those qualities of late.

But nothing at Arsenal is straightforward these days. It has been a hectic couple of weeks. First there was the Super League fiasco, news of which broke as Arsenal scrambled to a highly unconvincing 1-1 draw at home to Fulham with a 97th-minute equalizer. It was just as well that Tottenham was also part of the 12 teams…