PARIS — As he lowered himself into his seat in the Parc des Princes press conference room, Mikel Arteta informed reporters that some of his Arsenal players had been crying following the end of their Champions League run. He looked close to tears himself.
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.
He spoke bullishly about Arsenal’s chances of reaching the final in Munich beforehand, stating that his side had a big opportunity to “make history” in the French capital. He was adamant that they deserved more after falling short.
“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.”
Where Arsenal went wrong
By most metrics, Arsenal bettered their hosts. They had more shots (19 to 11), more possession (54 per cent to 46 per cent), more corners (six to two), a higher xG (3.14 to 1.81) despite PSG having a penalty. But they were second best on the only one that mattered: the scoreline: PSG 2-1 Arsenal, 3-1 on aggregate.
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.
But where Arteta’s analysis cannot be disputed is his assessment of what went on in both penalty areas. All three of PSG’s goals across both legs were world-class finishes: the first-time sweep from Ousmane Dembele at the Emirates followed by the touch and smash from Fabian Ruiz and clinical curler from Achraf Hakimi in the return.
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
Another difference between the clubs can be traced back to January, when one acted like a serious Champions League contender and the other didn’t. While Arsenal cruised into the knockouts in third with 19 points from a possible 24, PSG were made to sweat for their place, scrambling through in 15th after defeats to the Gunners, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
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.
In contrast, Arsenal did nothing, despite losing Gabriel Jesus to an ACL injury midway through January and lacking a consistently clinical finisher even before then.
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.
Arsenal beat PSG comfortably in the group phase but by the time they met again, they had been diminished by injury and their opponents rejuvenated by ambition.
What next for Arsenal?
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”.
Every summer that follows a barren season is crucial, but this one feels more critical than ever. From the start of 2022-23 to the end of 2023-24, Arsenal made two giant leaps forward. “With the points of the last two seasons [combined] we would have two Premier League titles,” Arteta stressed this week, implying that Arsenal have been the best team in the country in that time without the medals to show for it.
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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But on the whole it has been disappointing, a season that began with such promise ending in familiarly unfulfilling fashion.
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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