Xavi Simons, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap (Photo by Stuart Franklin, Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Thoughts on a painful Champions League exit
This was one of the most painful European exits I can remember for Arsenal. And it’s not because of the way they went out, it’s because there’s just a real feeling that this was a huge missed opportunity for the club.
The ultimate price was within touching distance, but it slipped agonisingly through the club’s fingers and it’s because they didn’t equip themselves well enough to be able to seize the chance that they had this season.
You can’t fault the performance on Wednesday night. It was largely excellent from the team in Paris. They played really well, they showed bravery, they coped with the atmosphere and they created chances. But they couldn’t find a way to score.
Gianluigi Donnarumma had an unbelievable night. In fact he had an unbelievable tie over the two legs. But in those huge moments you have to find a way to beat the best goalkeepers and Arsenal couldn’t do that.
Over the two legs they had a higher XG than PSG. They created better chances. But they scored once in 180 minutes despite creating all those opportunities. At the very top level that is never going to be enough.
And it’s the tale of Arsenal’s season. In the league they have scored one or no goals in 17 out of 35 games and every cup exit has been dominated by missed chances. Arsenal just don’t have enough players who can score goals or step up in the biggest moments.
The frustrating thing is pretty much everyone could have told you that at the start of the season. The injuries haven’t helped, but even if Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were available last night you would not be able to confidently say either one of them would have been able to take one of the chances that were created.
There is a lack of ruthlessness in attack. The club gambled massively in the last two transfer windows by sitting on their hands and doing nothing to bolster the attacking options and that gamble has backfired.
You can’t say for certain that a proper striker would have got them over the line this season, but it certainly would have given themselves a better chance of winning one of the trophies that they now crave.
My mind goes back to the speech Mikel Arteta gave after the Everton game on the final day of last season when Arsenal just missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.
“Don’t be satisfied,” he told supporters. “We want much more than that, and we’re going to get it.”
But it’s hard not to look back at the past couple of windows and feel that the powers that be at Arsenal were satisfied and a bit too comfortable with how things were going.
They had a massive opportunity to push on and really go for it, but they opted not to push the boat out and get what was needed to give this squad the tools it needed to get themselves over the line this season.
Arsenal stood still last summer when they should have really gone for it. That’s a mistake that can’t be repeated this time around.
Liam Delap linked but looks like the wrong signing for Arsenal
So many strikers are going to be linked with Arsenal between now and the summer. Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are the two names that feel the most likely to result in something right now, but others will continue to be mentioned.
I’ve seen Liam Delap spoken about and whilst I think he has had a good season for Ipswich and will get a good move this summer, I would be surprised if it’s to Arsenal.
A release clause of £30m is tempting, but I don’t see Arsenal signing two strikers in this upcoming window and there’s no way Delap comes in as the club’s first choice.
That would be asking too much of him and it would not be a move that would go down well with supporters.
Arsenal will spend big on a striker and I just don’t see it being someone like Delap.
Arsenal will surely invest in a winger – could Jamie Gittens be one to watch?
The reason I don’t see Arsenal buying two strikers this summer is I think they will spend big money on another winger.
It’s clear they need another option out wide, someone who can add to what they already have and help them open games up.
As I said last week, I’m not sure it has to be an out and out winger. It could be someone who can play out wide, but can also drift into central areas and share the creative burden with Martin Odegaard. Someone like Eberechi Eze or Xavi Simons.
Reports in Germany suggest that Arsenal are looking at Jamie Gittens and that would be an interesting one.
He is a player you’d describe as an out and out winger. He’s still quite raw, but he has that ability to really run at defenders and carry the ball long distances. That is something that Arsenal currently lack.
He has pace as well, which is something that definitely needs to be added to the squad.
At this point I just can’t say who Arsenal will sign. I don’t think anyone can. The club will have their targets and we’ll just have to wait and see who they get.
I still believe Nico Williams would be Arteta’s first choice. But we all know by now that might be a difficult one to get over the line.
Arsenal shouldn’t sell Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard
Even with a winger expected to come in, I don’t really see why one of either Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard would need to leave.
Arsenal need lots of good attacking options. Arteta needs to have enough players at his disposal that he can rotate confidently and give players rest when needed.
He’s clearly felt that he’s not been able to do that over the last couple of seasons and it’s hard not to think that the injuries we’ve seen have been a direct result of that.
So if it’s a case of one in, one out this summer the squad will just be in the same sort of shape numbers wise.
Obviously if a really tempting offer comes in for someone like Trossard or Martinelli then the club would have to consider it, but it would have to be a very good offer.
And even then they would need replacing. I just don’t think one new wide attacker will be enough this summer if someone was to leave.
If you really pushed me on who I would prefer the club to sell this summer out of Martinelli or Trossard I would probably go for the latter due to his age and his contract situation.
But again, it wouldn’t be something I would be desperate to see.
