Arteta rues brutal nature of football as Arsenal's quest for European glory falls short

Arsenal's Declan Rice rues a missed chance. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

Champions of Europe, will they ever sing that? That’s the question haunting Arsenal after the latest opportunity to snag a trophy that has eluded them throughout their entire history has yet again ended in frustration.

There were heroes in Paris as David Raya made a superb penalty save from Vitinha and Bukayo Saka scored a trademark goal. 

But there were villains, too, as Thomas Partey blundered for PSG’s second goal from Achraf Hakimi after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring.

But the 3-1 aggregate result leaves question marks hanging over manager Mikel Arteta’s legacy in north London, just weeks after he was lauded for a remarkable quarter-final demolition of Real Madrid.

Such is the brutal nature of football. 

There were even articles in the build-up to this match suggesting it was a do-or-die night for the Spaniard, despite retaining the backing of Arsenal fans.

It’s way too early for that, or for an inquest into a recruitment programme that left them short of a natural striker all season - on a night when they underscored in comparison to their XG once again. 

There needs to be time to lick wounds, to recover, to come to terms with how close they came to a dream that constantly slips through their grasp. One that even eluded Thierry Henry and the Invincibles.

If this was anyone else, the headlines would be positive, especially given the way Arteta’s team started and finished the game. 

But this is Arsenal, a Premier League giant that counts itself up there with the biggest in the world – and you really can’t claim that without lifting the big-eared trophy that provides access to football’s top table.

So, there’s no hiding how important this tie was to the Gunners - and to Arteta.

From the moment Arsenal’s Premier League season started to crack, and perhaps from the moment Saka was injured in a victory over Crystal Palace in December, there was only ever one way to save it: winning the Champions League instead.

That’s what made this exit at the last hurdle so tough to take.

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka reacts during the Champions League semi-final. Pic: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard

Liverpool’s title win was a procession in the end, with little jeopardy in a season in which Manchester City collapsed and Arsenal buckled just at the wrong moment.

But there was a feeling amongst Gunners fans that nobody would be too diverted by that debate if their team went to Paris and won, setting up only their second-ever Champions League final, and opening up the possibility that they could finally join Chelsea as the only London club to lift the famous trophy.

Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that? It’s a tune which has stung Arsenal for a very long time and especially since new money arrived at Stamford Bridge from Russia and America - and turned their capital rivals into a west London powerhouse that has now won the Champions League twice.

The synergy in Paris was that PSG, another big club based in a major capital city, haven’t won it either – despite the money that has poured in from Qatar. 

So, in many ways, Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 defeat at the Emirates in the first leg left many people wondering which team would be most nervous in the Parc des Princes.

PSG certainly won the tactical battle that day, especially in the first half, but the narrow win left the door to a final in Munich on 31 May ajar.

Arteta knew Arsenal had to bulge the net to get there, and despite those remarkable victories over Real this season, he must have been aware the Gunners had failed to score in any of their last seven semi-final matches in cup competitions, losing five and drawing two. 

At least he put that one right with Saka’s late strike in Paris.

The opening 10 minutes also showed Arsenal were serious about dominating the game, leaving PSG on the back foot and unfortunate not to go ahead through Martin Odegaard or Gabriel Martinelli, both denied by the man mountain Gianluigi Donnarumma.

But they fell to PSG on the break when Ruiz’s left-foot volley put the Parisians ahead – and that hurt.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had already hit the post after a lightning break, and Raya had saved spectacularly from Bradley Barcola following a poor Lewis-Skelly pass. So, there had been warning signs.

The north London side did well enough in the second half, including a fine Saka goal with the score at 2-0 and that Raya penalty save.

But they weren’t ruthless enough. 

Partey’s dawdling allowed Hakimi to score and Saka wasted a late chance which could have made it 2-2 on the night.

Even that wouldn’t have been enough, of course, so the overwhelming feeling is that Arsenal have, once again, fallen agonisingly short.

What on Earth do they have to do to win this trophy?