Arsenal have officially exited the Champions League at the semi-final stage, coming so near, yet so far, to making it all the way to the end.
Mikel Arteta will be left wondering what could’ve been for the Gunners in the competition, especially given the two legs that have just played out.
A frustrating first leg at the Emirates Stadium saw PSG take a 1-0 lead with them back to the Parc des Princes for the second leg.
While it was a spirited performance from Arsenal, it ended with PSG winning 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.
With the Champions League dream now over, there will be time to reflect on what has been a frustrating campaign overall.
There have been some signs of positivity, though, not least with Bukayo Saka finally ending a curse that Arsenal have had in the past few years.
Bukayo Saka’s goal ended a seven-game semi-final drought for Arsenal
Arsenal had plenty of work to do on Wednesday night when they travelled to Paris, with goals needed to turn the game around.
Scoring has been something of an issue for Arteta to deal with throughout the season, with questions arising on the lack of clinical edge the side has shown.
While Arsenal created plenty of chances against PSG, they were unable to take any until the 76th minute of the match.
Bukayo Saka managed to put the ball into an empty net to give the North London side some hope, though it would only be a consolation in the end.
While the Champions League dream is over, the winger did actually end a seven-game drought that had been haunting Arteta.
Before their trip to Paris, Arsenal had gone seven semi-finals without scoring a single goal, underlining those problems in big matches.
Two-legged defeats against Villarreal, Liverpool and Newcastle in cup competitions all came without scoring, while the first leg against PSG added to the tally.
For a team trying to win the biggest competitions out there, losing without scoring in those semi-finals is clearly a problem.
Saka’s goal may not have won Arsenal the tie, but it did finally end that horrific run of big matches without scoring.
Next season, the side will be looking to go one further and book a place in the final that they crave.
- READ MORE: Martin Keown says Arsenal were ‘perfect’ in one area against PSG, Mikel Arteta will be fuming
Ian Wright slams Arsenal for not pushing earlier in PSG tie
Arsenal’s defeat to PSG will always linger with the question of “what if?”
Thoughts will pan back to missed opportunities or small moments that just went the way of the French giants, which ultimately swung the game in their favour.
For Arsenal legend Ian Wright, however, he believes that Arsenal should’ve started the first leg against PSG the same way they did in the second, which could have given them a better chance.
Speaking on Wrighty’s House, he said: “I think that the way we started, especially with our crowd at the Emirates, I cannot understand why we didn’t start like we started tonight simply because you can see how troubled, how disorganised they felt, how they couldn’t get out Paris Saint-Germain in those first 20 minutes.”
In the end, their lack of cutting edge was costly, with Arsenal going back to the drawing board on how they can get a major trophy win over the line.
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