ARSENAL and Mikel Arteta were slammed by ruthless French outlet L’Equipe after the Champions League final.
The Gunners lost on pens in Budapest after a gruelling 120 minutes could not separate the sides.
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Arsenal were ripped into by French outlet L’Equipe for their Champions League final performance Credit: l’equipe
Mikel Arteta’s side have been accused of “parking a double-decker bus” in Budapest Credit: PA
But despite taking new back-to-back winners PSG through extra time, their performance did not get any Parisian fans on board from the capital.
Typically brutal paper reporters L’Equipe tore into Arteta‘s tactics and his team’s display for lacking any attacking intent.
They wrote: “For a long time, it seemed PSG would lose this final without even really playing, rendered powerless, locked down by the Gunners, who threw the key into the Danube before parking their double-decker bus in front of David Raya‘s goal.
“Mikel Arteta’s rejection of a Barcelona legacy, on the cusp of the best night of his career, can justify his defeat, as can this statistic: Havertz’s goal was Arsenal‘s only shot on target, a sorry mess with players like these, as if this club, built on attacking football, had shed all scruples to extinguish its reputation as a loser.”
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The Spaniard saw his team go ahead through Havertz in the sixth minute after a fortunate bounce off Leandro Trossard took him through on goal.
And indeed, Arsenal didn’t test Matvey Safonov until the shootout – and even then Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missed the target rather than being denied.
It left L’Equipe to give out two ratings of three (out of 10) in the Arsenal starting XI.
The unimpactful Trossard and Cristhian Mosquera – who initially did a good job at shutting down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before conceding a pen on the hour mark – were ranked joint-lowest.
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Captain Martin Odegaard was next up on a four, with Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelley, and Piero Hincapie on fives.
Arteta got a four and referee Daniel Siebert – not a favourite of any Arsenal follower – on a five.
L’Equipe continued: “Can you be European champion with only one shot on target, a constantly low block, and 25% possession?
“Perhaps, and even certainly. But it’s quite fortunate that it didn’t happen this Saturday night.”
The attack was desrcibed as being a “sorry mess” with Trossard picked out as “anonymous” and “isolated.”
He still made more than Saka’s four passes before being subbed off – but also lost the ball 13 times.
Mosquera is deemed to have “miraculously” escaped a red card after not being booked for his foul on Kvaratskhelia despite already being on a yellow.
The out-of-position defender was hauled off immediately after by Arteta.
But the manager still gets specific criticism, with L’Equipe saying: “It’s regrettable that he somewhat sacrificed players like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard by demanding significant defensive effort.”
Arsenal ended the match with just 25 per cent of the ball and sunk deep into their own half, often just defending the box.
Mikel Arteta was slammed for the defensive tactics Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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PSG boss Luis Enrique was honest in his assessment of how it all played out.
He said: “The match started in the best way for them; they scored a lucky action.
“After that, it was pressure for them because they know how to defend, it was very tough.
“We are used to attacking in that way, with a lot of players behind the ball, but against them, they are strong physically.”
Midfielder Joao Neves added: “We deserved it today, because PSG were the only team that wanted to play.”
