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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Darren Wells

Arsenal fans react as Mesut Ozil blazes penalty over crossbar on eve of Europa League final

Arsenal fans have been left bemoaning Mesut Ozil after he missed a penalty on the eve of the Europa League final.

The German midfielder took the spot kick in training, but fired his shot straight over the crossbar.

A video emerged of the effort on social media, with Gunners fans quick to lambast their playmaking no.10.

Commenting on the clip shared by journalist Charles Watts, one fan @sue_skyheart wrote: "That was dreadful," whilst @bonjourgunner added: "certified bottler."

Another, @coops313 was quick to point out one possible scenario of Wednesday's final, and said: "Well... we'd better hope it doesn't go to penalties."

Mesut Ozil missed a penalty in a training ground shootout (Getty Images)

Arsenal are hoping to win their first European trophy since 2006 as they take on Chelsea in Baku's Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan.

But the Gunners have the unenviable record of having never beaten an English side in Europe to overturn.

Unai Emery will be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the clash - which Arsenal must win to secure Champions League football next season.

The Spaniard also has a decision to make over who will start the match in goal for his side.

The German international blazed his effort over the bar (Getty Images)

Back-up stopper Petr Cech has played in every round of their Europa League campaign, but could be replaced by first-choice keeper Bernd Leno for the final.

Arsenal fans made assumptions that whoever was in goal for the training ground shootout would get the nod for the final.

Several supporters tweeted to ask who was facing the penalties between the sticks.

Sadly for them, Watts revealed the keeper was in fact third-choice keeper Deyan Iliev, who is unlikely to be in contention to start.

Arsenal fans were left hoping Wednesday's final does not have to be decided by penalties (UEFA via Getty Images)

One positive that Arsenal enthusiasts took from the insight though was the penalty taken by Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

After Ozil's kick went awry, followed by an Iliev save from Matteo Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles then stepped up to blast one into the top corner.

One fan labelled it a cool finish, while @Amaan said wisely: "Practice makes perfect."

Here's what some of the other Gunners fans were saying...

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