The aftermath: What now? Wenger back? Spotify take-over?

Like that John Travolta "Pulp Fiction" meme - everyone who loves Arsenal are now asking what path will the club take. They have found themselves in a dimension they were not populating since 1995-96, the season that pre-dates the arrival of Arsene Wenger.

Awful placement in the Premier League and eliminated from the Europa League semi-finals by a manager who majority wanted out of the Emirates - the season is in tatters.

Villareal qualified to the Europa League finals deservedly and will face Manchester United who are favorites in the eyes of many. However, the way Unai Emery steers the Yellow Submarine, it would be a mistake to underestimate their competition mentality and mindset. Villareal haven't lost a single game since the start of the Europa League campaign started.

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What is a club of huge reputation like Arsenal to do? True, there wasn't much success in the last decade or so, apart from few FA Cups and Community Shields - but Arsenal is a big club. Enormous fanbase that grew by accumulating supporters during the glory days in the time of the Invincibles. It was beautiful to watch the team play and even if they did not win as many Premier Leagues or at least one Champions League, they were a team everyone feared.

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Last night there was a moment that embodied a huge issue with the mentality of the Gunners and their approach to the gravity of the Arsenal crest. It came midway through the first-half - they won a corner and Martin Odegaard walked over to take it. And there was the issue. He walked. He didn’t run. He didn’t even jog. He put no pressure on Villarreal, removed all intensity from the play.

Yes, he is a new player and might not feel that responsibility towards Arsenal yet but none of the teammates have urged him to hurry and to wake him and the rest of the team up.

A match with so much at stake not to boost you with energy to grab every lose ball, utilize every second to score that one goal that would take you to the final? And not just that - that final, the trophy and a victory in it would grant you another European campaign. If that is not enough to motivate you, then what is?

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The match ended in a third European semi-final exit in their last four attempts - the 10th time they have failed to score in a home match in a single season for the first time in their history.

Arteta was warned he is now under enormous pressure after Arsenal crashed out of Europe but he insisted he still has faith in his ability to manage this team. Fierce criticism from Arsenal supporters has intensified too.

'We have to show that (our response) on the pitch, it's not about talking.' Arteta said.

'Yes (I still have faith in my ability to do the job), yes (I can understand why there will be focus on me). Everybody's job is under scrutiny. I feel pressure all the time as I want to do as well as I can for the team, for every supporter here and for our fans.'

Emery & Arteta before the match (©Shaun Botterill/Gallo Images)

'We are devastated. We had so much enthusiasm and desire to be in that final, have a chance to win that title and be in the Champions League next season. It's a huge blow.'

'When you play this knockout game you need your best players at their best and we didn't have enough of those. But it's no excuses. The way we started in Villarreal was not good enough.

'We haven't played our best over the two legs, certainly in the first half in Villarreal and the first half today, and we conceded a set piece which determined the tie.

'We were very imprecise with the ball. We were a bit tense as well. We got better and more dominant in the second half and created enough chances over the two ties but not enough to win it.

'Last year we had to earn our way into Europe by a different way by winning the FA Cup and this year the only way to do it now is through the Premier League so we know what we have ahead of us.'

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All props to Emery for the way he set up this victory and prevented Arsenal to raise their spirits during the game. There is no small irony in the final indignity being meted out by the man Arsenal ditched for Arteta. Villarreal are known as the Yellow Submarine, but it was Arsenal who looked sunk.

For years now, Arsenal ranks show mixed emotion, with ambition and fear battling in every performance. You see they have the talent, splendid moments emerge from time to time, but more often than not you see them being too cautious, too afraid to seize the opportunity and to show that hunger to defeat their opponent.

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What now? Which way to go to bring the club back to glory?

Fans are running out of patience. Same fans that held banners 'Wenger Out' are probably now crying to see the Frenchman back in the dug-out of the Emirates Stadium. A classic example of 'you don't know what you got till it's gone'.

Who will save Arsenal’s face? Arsenal have been in a cup final either domestically or in Europe every year since 2016 which has papered over some cracks, but that run is now at an end. There is still a mathematical chance of reaching a European competition through the league but it is slim, to say the least.

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It will probably take a couple of days before we hear any kind of an announcement on Arteta's future. There is four more rounds left in the top tier of English football and the Spaniard will do whatever he can to better the situation at the table but it will be a fight for mostly dignity and to boost up the moral of a disappointed Gunners community.

In terms of the roster, who would sign for such a team during the next transfer window? No Europe after a quarter of a century, a manager with little experience and even less success. Arsenal will probably turn to their core of super-talented youngsters and will do what ever they can to keep the players that contributed the most.

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To make the situation worse, all the big London rivals are standing better than the Gunners. Chelsea have exploded under Tuchel, Moyes created a team to beat out of West Ham. Tottenham, even though in transition, have better chances of playing European football next season.

What will happen at the Emirates - time will tell. Maybe Daniel Ek manages to buy the club of Stan Kroenke and start a new era in north London with the club legends at the drivers seat.

It would be a hell of a sequel.