Cesc Fabregas: Injury blow for Arsenal(credit:
Ryu Voelkel)
Arsenal’s bid to reach the Champions League knockout stage was dealt a major blow by a 2-0 defeat to Braga.
The Gunners, who surrendered a two-goal advantage in losing to bitter rivals Tottenham at the weekend, entered the game knowing a draw would be enough to ensure their progress.
But they offered little in Portugal, with Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas forcing decent saves from Braga goalkeeper Luiz Felipe, before the latter limped off with a hamstring problem.
Carlos Vela’s appeals appeal for a penalty were turned down by referee Viktor Kassai, who then booked the Arsenal forward, and things went from bad to worse shortly afterwards.
Brandao’s long ball forward was collected by Nascimento Matheus and he confidently slotted the ball past Lukasz Fabianski with seven minutes to go, and the same player then wrapped up the points for Braga in added time when he surged into the box and rifled home his second off the crossbar.
With one game to go Arsenal, who face bottom side Partizan Belgrade next, are level with Braga on nine points, while Shakhtar Donetsk top the group on 12.