Craig Burley criticised Mikel Arteta for Arsenal’s tactics and ’embarrassing’ kick-off routine during their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal’s quest for a first-ever Champions League trophy ended in heartbreak as the Gunners were defeated on penalties by PSG in Budapest.
Kai Havertz gave the north London side the dream start with a superb finish from a tight angle after only six minutes.
But Ousmane Dembele’s penalty pegged Arsenal back after the break before Gabriel skied the decisive tenth penalty over the bar to crown PSG champions for a second successive season.
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Arsenal’s success under Arteta this season has been predicated on their rock-solid defence, and the Gunners were happy to sit back and allow PSG plenty of the ball after going ahead early.
But even after PSG drew level, Arsenal seemed reluctant to come out of their shell, eventually setting the record for the lowest possession in a Champions League final with a meagre 24.7 per cent.
And former Chelsea midfielder Burley is not convinced that Arteta’s ultra-defensive approach after going ahead early was ever likely to succeed.
‘Let’s lay it out on the table, when they scored after six minutes, they tried to defend their way to the 90th minute,’ he told ESPN.
‘Had it been PSG who scored after six minutes, they would have carried on attacking and probing and trying to win the game. And that’s the contrast in how these two teams approach, not only the final, but approach football.
‘PSG are very progressive at the moment, and yes, Arsenal have won the Premier League, but PSG are very progressive. They want to probe and press and attack and continually try and use their guile and their skill. And Arsenal regressed into trying to defend their way through 84 minutes plus injury time? That’s tough to do.
‘They almost pulled it off, but that’s tough to do. A valiant effort from Arsenal, but in terms of a football game, PSG by far, even not at their best, by far the better of these two sides.’
Elsewhere, Burley labelled Arsenal’s kick-off routine during the final as ’embarrassing’, with Arteta’s side repeatedly launching the ball high into the sky to contest aerial duels midway within the PSG half.
‘Three times from a kick-off they’ve lobbed it forward like it was a game of rugby,’ he added. ‘That’s embarrassing.
‘They’ve sat there and said, ‘you know what, let’s just launch a high ball every time we get a kick-off and try and win’. That’s 1980s football back in England. It really is.
‘I don’t get all the plaudits. Sure, Champions League final, they got there, they were competitive because they were defensive.
‘But I don’t understand all the plaudits when your game plan, once you get the goal, is to just sit back and allow the best footballing side in Europe possession of the football and trying to defend for 84 minutes. That’s not an acceptable way to try and win this competition.’
Speaking after his side’s defeat, Arteta sought to try and take the positives from a heartbreaking defeat.
‘What I said to the players and the staff is that if I tell them one million times ‘thank you’, it’s not going to be enough,’ the Spaniard said.
‘It’s not because we won the Premier League and it’s not because we played the League Cup final, it’s not because we played the Champions League final in the manner that we’ve done.
‘It’s because of the joy and the moments that we have lived together every single day and that’s above anything else.’
And when asked if he would look to take inspiration from tonight’s victors, PSG, he added: ‘Yes, and the individual action that they have for sure.
‘Then you have to get into the competition with all the squad available in every moment, each player. We have had many more players than last season but not all of them in that condition for different reasons. That’s something that we have to improve on as well.’
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