Arsene Wenger: Atletico Draw Left 'Bitter Taste' but Individuals Not to Blame

Arsene Wenger was left frustrated after his Arsenal side were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Atletico Madrid on Thursday because of costly errors, but he refused to single out individual players for blame. 

The Gunners dominated much of the game after two early bookings for Atletico's Sime Vrsaljko saw him sent off just nine minutes in, and manager Diego Simeone followed suit three minutes later when he vociferously called for Hector Bellerin to be booked.

Arsenal eventually took the lead through Alexandre Lacazette's header on the hour mark, but in the 82nd minute they failed to deal with a long ball up to Antoine Griezmann after Danny Welbeck was dispossessed.

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The Frenchman was played onside by Nacho Monreal before Laurent Koscielny failed to clear, and Shkodran Mustafi was unable to block it on the line because he slipped while tracking back.

Per ESPN FC's Mattias Karen, Wenger was not happy at the final whistle:

According to Sky Sports, the coach admitted Arsenal "created the anti-climax by giving a goal away" but added:

"It's not about blaming individuals. The whole team is very disappointed and down.

"For us to have a chance to qualify, first we must rebuild and get the disappointment out of the way. To rebuild the confidence and desire to go there and qualify. Our fans were fantastic, and that's what we want."

Arsenal had two promising chances when both sides still had 11 men, but Lacazette saw his volley hit the post and a header well saved by Jan Oblak. After Atleti went down to 10, they spent most of the game camped in their own half.

Between the goalkeeper's resolute performance and some profligate finishing, the Gunners only managed to score once when they could have had many more, as Squawka Football demonstrated:

"I think looking at the performance we had and the way the game went it was the worst possible result for us," Wenger said to BT Sport, (h/t the Mirror's Jake Polden). "They could not score a goal from combination, only from long ball, and we can only look at ourselves."

The Gunners were on course to record an excellent result against the UEFA Europa League favourites but saw their display undone in comical fashion. 

Football writer Tom Williams felt it summarised Wenger's tenure at the club:

Arsenal must now find an away goal at the Wanda Metropolitano—where Atletico have conceded just four goals in 17 La Liga matches this season—and hope to keep out Griezmann and Co. at the other end, which will be even more difficult if Diego Costa is able to feature.

Their hopes of reaching the final—which they need to win to end the season on a high and ensure UEFA Champions League qualification—now dangle by a thread.

The Gunners were given a golden opportunity to take a strong result into the second leg, but their failure to capitalise could prove costly.