Familiar tale as Arsenal again fail to close the deal

For so long, for more than a decade maybe, the three most over-used words in reports about Arsene Wenger’s team in the Champions League have been ‘Same Old Arsenal’ — and just when it looked like they could shake off that perception they fell agonisingly short once more against PSG.

Wenger’s side have reached the knockout stages of the tournament 14 years in a row, a level of consistency which most of their rivals would kill for; but their European history has been more accurately defined by the fact they have been knocked out in the last 16 for the last six years — and five times after finishing second in their group.

Year after year, the same mistakes, the same outcome — sloppy performances in the early stages and stage fright when it really matters.