Decoding Arsenal's failure

Coach Mikel Arteta was in tears at his press conference after the second leg of the semi-final at Parc des Princes (Paris - France), where Arsenal lost to PSG again in just over a week. He said the Arsenal players were sad to have to end their Champions League journey early in an undesirable way.

Arsenal lost comprehensively to PSG, sadly saying goodbye to the Champions League. (Photo: PSG)

The statistics show that Arsenal were the better team in the second leg in Paris. They had more shots (19 to 11), more possession (54% to 46%), more corners (6 to 2), a higher expected goals (3.14 to 1.81)… but they were lacking in the most important aspect – goals.

Arteta's assertion that Arsenal are "the best team in the Champions League" seems one-sided. PSG may not have played as well as expected, but they have still performed very well. All three of PSG's goals in the two matches were world-class finishes: Ousmane Dembele's unstoppable low shot in the first leg, followed by Fabian Ruiz's tricky finish and Achraf Hakimi's curling shot in the second leg. PSG also have a "treasure" that Arsenal must covet: goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma - the author of spectacular saves in both semi-final matches.

PSG lost 0-2 to Arsenal in the group stage and Arsenal ranked 3rd this round while PSG ranked 15th. Having struggled in the group stage, PSG spent 80 million euros to buy Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, creating an extremely strong squad with the revival of Dembele and the brilliance of "rising stars" Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola.

On the contrary, Arsenal did nothing despite losing Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz due to injury. Arsenal became weak, finding it difficult to compete with PSG who were getting stronger and more ambitious.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/giai-ma-that-bai-cua-arsenal-196250508205802746.htm