After taking time to digest Arsenal’s recent Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Football Daily has landed on two plausible ways to reflect on Mikel Arteta’s side bowing out of the competition.
One perspective is sympathetic: Arsenal, despite being hampered by injuries to key players and seemingly on the wrong end of officiating decisions both domestically and in Europe, put on an admirable showing over the two legs. For long stretches, they matched — if not outperformed — their state-backed opponents. It’s difficult to ignore that PSG, supported by Qatar’s immense financial muscle, were able to deploy a world-class squad including a goalkeeper in exceptional form. Arsenal, by contrast, had to make do without a recognised centre-forward in either match. Framed that way, it feels more like an unfortunate near-miss than a failure.
As for individual performances, Thomas Partey’s display in the second leg drew plenty of attention — some of it humorous. “I know Atlético Madrid were rumoured to be interested in signing him,” writes Declan Hackett. “But after that showing in Paris, who’s really going to want to be in the Partey?”
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s latest trophyless campaign has sparked comparisons to Bayer Leverkusen’s infamous early-2000s run that earned them the nickname “Neverkusen.” Duncan Roberts wonders if it’s time for a similar label on this side: “How about ‘Nahrsenal’?”
In lighter moments, readers continued to reminisce about football’s past. Reflecting on a recent mention of Ron Springett’s old unveiling at Sheffield Wednesday, Derek McGee jokes: “Is this the only time a new signing was presented to the media by doing keepy-outies? He wasn’t even near his goal or inside the box — but still.”
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