Forty minutes after the final whistle, Arteta looked disconsolate, coming to terms with a painful defeat that stretches his and Arsenal’s wait for a major trophy to at least six years. It is a setback that will sting as spring moves into summer.
“I don’t think there’s been a better team in the competition from what I’ve seen,” he insisted. “But we are out. We deserved much more but this competition is about the boxes, the strikers most of the time and the goalkeeper, and theirs was the best player in both games.”
Arteta’s comments that Arsenal have been the Champions League’s best team seemed a bit one-eyed. PSG may not have been at their best on Wednesday but they still played some scintillating football, as they have done regularly since the turn of the year. Their fellow finalists Inter Milan produced a semi-final for the ages against Barcelona.
And in Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Parisians have something the Londoners lack: a world-class goalkeeper. The towering Italian made a series of stunning saves at key points in the semi-final.
The January transfer window blunder
PSG’s January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was outstanding across both legs (Photo: Getty)They responded by making a strong squad better in the winter transfer window, splashing out €80m (£68m) on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli. The Georgian was sensational in both legs and has slotted seamlessly into a frighteningly good forward line featuring a revitalised Dembele and superstars of the future, if not already, in Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola.
There were key moments that swung this tie in PSG’s favour: Dembele’s early goal that sucked the atmosphere out of the Emirates; Donnarumma’s early brilliance in Paris; Ruiz’s thunderbolt; Bukayo Saka’s glaring miss moments after giving Arsenal a lifeline. The January window was another.
Arteta was eager not to play the blame game when asked if a lack of firepower ultimately cost Arsenal, but he did acknowledge “somebody has to do something special to win it for you and make it happen and that was the difference”.
For a litany of reasons, this campaign hasn’t followed the same trajectory. There have been some huge highs, notably the 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City and the humbling of Madrid.
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The maximum number of points Arsenal can finish on in the Premier League is 76 and with fixtures against Liverpool (a) and Newcastle (h) remaining that is by no means a given. They ended on 89 last year and 84 two years ago. There have been extenuating circumstances behind the regression but it is a regression nonetheless.
There are obvious areas to reinforce in the next few months. A new goalkeeper should be signed to compete with Raya; at least two central midfielders are needed, a defensive one and a creative one; a left-winger to rival Gabriel Martinelli; and most obviously of all, a prolific striker. Standing still is not an option. Arsenal must heed their mistakes of the past 12 months to prevent another year of wasted potential.
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