Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options.
Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes.
Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Arsenal were punished for those misses when Fabian Ruiz struck in the 27th minute before Achraf Hakimi’s clinical finish in the 72nd minute put PSG on course for the final against Inter.
Bukayo Saka reduced the deficit with 14 minutes left, but it was too late for Arsenal to avoid the latest agonizing flop of Arteta’s increasingly tortured reign.
Since leaving his role as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City assistant to replace the sacked Unai Emery at Emirates Stadium in December 2019, Arteta has rebuilt Arsenal after a bleak period prior to his arrival.
Photo: Reuters
The Spaniard has turned Arsenal into serial title contenders and a force to be reckoned with in Europe, but an FA Cup final victory against Chelsea in 2020 remains Arteta’s only trophy with the club.
Losing the biggest game in their recent history leaves Arsenal facing a long summer of regret over their lack of success in the past two transfer windows.
Arteta’s Arsenal legacy is in danger of being tarnished by the club’s curious decision not to sign a prolific striker.
Injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus forced Arteta to use Spain midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker with mixed results during the final weeks of the season.
However, even before Havertz and Jesus were sidelined, Arsenal missed the ruthless cutting edge possessed by Premier League champions Liverpool and elite European teams like PSG.
Arteta had tried to remedy that shortcoming with a move for England striker Ollie Watkins during the January transfer window.
However, Arsenal were unable to convince Aston Villa to accept their offer, prompting a frustrated Arteta to say that he was “disappointed” when the window closed without reinforcements.
Arsenal gifted the Premier League title to Liverpool with 13 draws — six more than Arne Slot’s team — as their lack of killer instinct was exposed. And as Arsenal poured forward in waves at the start of the second leg against PSG, it was clear what a predatory forward would have added to their vibrant team.
The sight of Saka blazing over with an open goal at his mercy in the closing stages perfectly encapsulated Arsenal’s attacking woes.
Arteta praised Donnarumma as “the best player on the pitch” rather than blame his forwards.
However, penalty area profligacy has been a recurring problem for Arteta throughout a reign that has promised more than it has delivered.
Without a Premier League title since 2004, Arsenal were runners-up to Manchester City for the past two seasons after squandering sizeable leads in the title race.
This season they could not keep up with Liverpool’s relentless form, so attention switched to the Champions League.
When Arsenal demolished holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, it seemed that they might win the tournament for the first time to validate the Arteta era.
However, that Achilles heel of errant finishing, combined with costly defensive mistakes, proved fatal against PSG.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice claimed they would need “big balls” and “magic moments” to beat Luis Enrique’s men.
Yet as Rice trooped miserably down the tunnel after the final whistle, it was painfully clear what they really needed.
“We were not strong enough in the boxes. That’s where we lost it,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said.
“We have to learn from this. We did a lot of good things, but it’s not enough.”In front of goal is where games are decided and that’s where we have to be sharper. We have to use this pain in a good way,” he said.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his