Arsenal were knocked out of the tournament by Paris Saint-Germain last night, and became the third English team to be crushed by the Parisiens in the Champions League this season, with Bukayo Saka missing a sitter as their dreams of European glory ended in disaster.
The Gunners entered the game with a 1-0 deficit after losing at The Emirates last week, courtesy of an early Ousmane Dembele goal.
Wednesday’s game started differently, however, with Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli squandering early chances as Arsenal started positively and looked for an early goal.
The first goal would go to the French side again, however, as Fabian Ruiz’s effort from outside the box arrowed past David Raya after taking a nick off William Saliba’s midriff, leaving the goalkeeper with little chance.
Fabian Ruiz's first-half strike put PSG 2-0 up in the tie
PA
The shining light, as ever, for the Gunners was Saka, who produced a stunning curling effort in the second half from a difficult angle, forcing the Italian giant Gianluigi Donnarumma into an equally spectacular save.
However, Achraf Hakimi would double PSG’s lead on the night with a precise finish in the corner, leaving Arsenal with it all to do.
The Gunners responded well, with Saka finding the net after his shot rebounded, and shortly after had the goal at his mercy after a delicious delivery from second-half substitute Riccardo Calafiori.
The ball zipped past Donnarumma, leaving the goal gaping for the Englishman, but with the pace of the cross, he failed to keep it underneath the crossbar.
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Bukayo Saka couldn't believe he had missed the golden chance
Reuters
With over 10 minutes of normal time remaining, it is a chance that could have changed the course of the tie, and fans wouldn’t have wanted it to fall to anyone else. He had, after all, been the driving force in Arsenal’s attack over the two legs and looked sharp on the night.
However, the goal, his second of the night, averted him, and PSG saw the game out professionally from then on with their two-goal aggregate cushion still intact.
After the game, Arsenal legend Martin Keown said to TNT Sports: “It was painful and it will hurt Saka. He won't be sleeping for two or three nights, but he can be proud of his performance tonight.
“[Nuno] Mendes - we didn't see much of him in an attacking sense because Saka was on the pitch.”
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Fellow pundit Ally McCoist added: “He just leant back. He got over it.
“It's a tap-in. It's hard to be critical, but he's got to be sticking that in the back of the net and then we're in for a really entertaining 10 minutes.
“I’m not sure Arsenal deserved to lose the game tonight, but not sure they did enough to win the tie. They've been beaten tonight by two fabulous strikes.”
Bukayo Saka and Arsenal looked dejected after their semi-final exit
PA
Owen Hargreaves suggested Saka took ‘his eye off it’, and the chance ‘needs to go in’.
Arteta was quick to praise his side’s performance after the game.
“The goalkeeper was the best player and made the difference in the tie,” he said to TNT Sports.
“I don't think there has been a better team in the competition so far [than us], but we're out tonight.
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“This competition is about the boxes, and in the boxes there are normally the strikers most of the time and a goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper was the best in both games.”
Arsenal’s struggles in front of goal were evident once more in Wednesday’s clash, with the side managing just four shots on target in each leg.
In a similar vein to Tuesday’s great Champions League clash between Inter Milan and Barcelona, the goalkeeper Donnarumma has come away with the plaudits and played his part in PSG’s aggressive rise as they look to lift their first-ever Champions League.
