Arsenal’s 2020/2021 season was a complete disaster.
Their eighth-placed finish meant they missed out on European football for the first time in 26 years and that was far from the only embarrassment. Unai Emery, a man they ditched some months previously, masterminded their Europa League exit at the hands of Villarreal and things were also a mess off the field.
There was the cruel execution of Gunnersaurus, the Super League debacle and the subsequent, feeble apology issued by the Kroenke family.
Still, that is all in the past now. Heading into their maiden pre-season game of the 2021/2022 season against Hibernian, Gunners fans would have been hopeful of kicking off a new, less depressing era in the club’s history.
However, that optimism soon vanished when they saw this clip pop up on their Twitter timeline.
The passback from Cedric Soares was poor but the subsequent attempt to deal with it by Arthur Okonkwo was much worse.
Martin Boyle will never score an easier goal and rival fans will never have an easier route to mocking the Gunners.
Things soon got even worse for Arsenal as well. After failing to level things up before the break, Hibs managed to net again. This time Daniel MacKay was the scorer, heading home from a corner.
Cue the #ArtetaOut hashtags...
Surely things could only improve from here, right? Wrong.
Fans were offered a brief glimmer of hope when Nicolas Pepe won a penalty... only for his effort to be saved.
Last season, Emile Smith Rowe's emergence was a rare source of joy for the Gunners and once again he offered fans some solace, volleying home at the back post in the closing stages.
It wasn't enough, though, with Hibs, who finished 37 points behind Scottish champions Rangers last season, holding on for a 2-1 win.
It was another bitter blow for Arteta's defenders.
Source : 90min