Two familiar problems cost Arsenal yet again, versus PSG
It is done, Arsenal have been condemned to yet another trophyless season. Our 2-1 loss in Paris last night has seen to this in what would’ve been a heartbreaker. An absolute worldie from Fabian Ruiz and a sweeping finish from the excellent Achraf Hakimi was enough to down the Gunners despite a late goal from […] The post Two familiar problems cost Arsenal yet again, versus PSG appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
It is done, Arsenal have been condemned to yet another trophyless season. Our 2-1 loss in Paris last night has seen to this in what would’ve been a heartbreaker. An absolute worldie from Fabian Ruiz and a sweeping finish from the excellent Achraf Hakimi was enough to down the Gunners despite a late goal from Bukayo Saka. This means the Gunners won’t get the chance for another bite at an unprecedented UCL crown in Munich later this month. The loss brought to an end a fantastic and unexpected run in Europe’s premier competition this campaign. A knockout stage that saw us dismantle both PSV and Real Madrid will now amount to nothing, much to the dismay of myself and Gooners alike.
Looking at the game in finer detail, it pretty much could’ve been a different story if we managed to take those big chances in the early minutes. This has been a story of our season really which only further brings to light our need for a natural finisher. Aside from those early chances, we failed to be of any significant threat to the PSG backline especially on the numerous occasions balls were driven low into the box. Even though the towering Gianluigi Donnarumma was in excellent form all night, it still doesn’t excuse the fact. Arsenal produced (via Fotmob) an XG of 3.14 last night, add that to the 1.63 generated in the first leg then it means that we managed only a single goal from nearly 5 goals worth of XG. That’s not good enough and that’s a big reason we lost the tie home and away.
Apart from that and on the defensive side of things Arsenal conceded yet again from a set-piece. Though some may argue we conceded in the second phase, it’s from a set-piece regardless and that’s a serious concern. That’s the third goal in four games in all competitions we’ve conceded from a set play. The finish was an absolute peach from Fabian Ruiz but questions will still be raised and rightfully so, it’s becoming a regular occurrence! For such a team who’s this good in the attacking phase, questions will surely be raised when we cannot do the same job in our own box! Declan Rice will shoulder a bit of the blame too given how he conceded the free kick in the first place.
All through the season and more recently, these problems have been prevalent, causing us to lose the Premier League title to Liverpool. In the Champions League semi-final last night, it cost us again. Dooming us to yet another season of waiting. Well on the bright side, at least we do have the Arsenal Women to cheer on in the UWCL final so who knows maybe the Champions League trophy will come to North London after all, one way or the other :).
Thoughts gooners, how much better could we have done with a natural finisher at no. 9?
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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