3 reasons why Atletico Madrid will advance to the UEFA Europa League finals

A victory for Arsenal was seemingly the final result of the match when Alexandre Lacazette put the ball past Jan Oblak. Unfortunately, at the 81st minute, Lacazette's international team-mate, Antoine Griezmann scored at the other end.

Atletico Madrid started off as the weaker side as they sat back to defend while Arsenal dominated possession and was engrossed in taking an early lead. The Gunners had an advantage when Sime Vrsaljko was sent off in the 9th minute of the game. With an extra man, Arsenal threw bodies forward to attack and looked like they were about the score anytime.

Perhaps, luck was not with the Gunners as both sides finished with a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. The Premier League's sixth-placed team now faces an uphill task on Thursday as they have to battle hard to qualify for the finals. The odds are certainly not in their favour as Atletico Madrid are highly probable to be one of the teams playing in Lyon in May.

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#3 Atletico Madrid have a superb form at home

The away side celebrating their crucial away goal

Under Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid have a remarkable defensive record. Arsenal struggled to get past the defenders on Thursday night and with Jan Oblak performing up to the mark, the Gunners could only slot a goal home.

At the Wanda Metropolitano, Atletico Madrid's new home, the Spanish team has conceded just four goals. Besides that, the Atletico defenders have not let in a home goal in their last 11 games. Arsenal remain the highest goalscoring team in Europa, but in reality, the English side has struggled when playing away from home.

Simeone's side played with ten men for over 80 minutes of the match as they were as good as having the full strength. Losing their right-back after a double yellow card in the beginning stages of the match, Atletico Madrid focused on their defensive duties. They stood around the box and tracked the runs of every Arsenal player, leaving the likes of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey very little space to run.

The Gunners have their goalscoring problems away from home and it will involve a great deal of effort to break the stubborn defence of the La Liga team.

#2 Atletico Madrid have the advantage of away goals

Diego Simeone was sent off to the stands after being too agitated in the early stages of the match

The Spanish giants can now sit back and relax after Antoine Griezmann scored a crucial away goal at the Emirates thanks to a mistake from Arsenal's defender, Laurent Koscielny. At times, Atletico threatened Arsenal but the Premier League side dominated the game and played with determination throughout. Unfortunately for the Gunners, the result is now not in their favour.

Playing the home match in the first leg, it is of extreme importance to preserve a clean sheet because of the away goals rule. With the result standing against the Gunners, Arsene Wenger claimed the draw was the worst possible result of the game.

Martin Keown went on to criticise Arsenal's defenders after the draw and fans were terribly upset with the result of the match.

Los Colchoneros are having such a superb home form and it is going to be a mystery on whether Arsenal can score in Spain. A goalless draw would see the Spanish side advance.

The Gunners require at least a 1-1 draw to ensure that they can take the match to extra time and possibly penalties. The more Arsenal scores, the more positive the outlook. However, scoring away from home does not seem to be easy for Wenger's team.

#1 Arsenal have been pushed to the limits

It was Wenger's last European home match in charge

In the minds of the players, they wanted to win Wenger's last European home match for their manager. The team of 11 men showed the desire to get a positive result right from the time referee, Clement Turpin, blew the kick-off whistle. As such, Arsenal gave their everything throughout the match.

Regardless of the result of the match, the Gunners were indeed pushed to their limits. They registered 28 shots in total and sincerely attempted to test Oblak. Even though the team tried their best, they could only find a goal through Alexandre Lacazette. Their Spanish opponents were simply too strong for them.

Arsenal will play Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend. Despite knowing that the possibility of reaching top four in the table standings is close to zero, the game will take a toll on players' confidence even if they are being rested, should Arsenal lose.

The draw at home has already dampened the spirits of the team who seem to concede that making it to Lyon seems unlikely this year.