The pain of losing CL final and how to use it as fuel

Sicario2

Going into the CL final I was genuinely viewing it as a free hit. Like many of you I was consumed by our league campaign and hardly gave winning the CL a second thought.

However, after the game I think it’s one of, if not the most painful Arsenal defeats. I guess that is what penalty shootouts do to you and it also dawns on you it was 20 years since our last final, will it be another 20 years till our next?

So it’s basically a combined feeling of ‘what if’ and regret and big lost opportunity.

Also, because of how opposition fans have reacted really pissed me off (even though it’s absolutely shameful that maybe apart from City fans who won two cups, most rival fans biggest highlight of their season was us losing the final).

Part of me that is most upset is the fact we may never go into a CL final with such less pressure and momentum following our first title win in 22 years. Also, will we ever get an easier route than we did with playing Leverkuson, Sporting and AM? Felt PSG were there for the taking in ET with their best 3 players not on the pitch. In life when your are presented opportunities you need to grab them. I did say that about the league in 2023 and 3 years later we won it so hopefully the same happens (albeit rather we win it next year than wait 3 years).

Anyway, similar to last season, we must use this as fuel to win it next year. The CL has to be the priority next year. We are probably the biggest club to never won it and that’s fucking embarrassing. We must also stop this rot in European finals - lost 6 out of our last 7 finals.

The good news is we have relevant experience now and perhaps winning the CL would put us in complacent mode next season.

We were so, so close this season and it still hurts but I want to win it as much as I wanted to win the league. We have to shut these opposition fans up once and for all.

Ray

Everybody wants to win until they realise how many losses it takes.

To win you have to go through the losses, failures, rejections and the pressure it takes to get there.

Winning is built on lessons most people would quit during. It takes strength to persevere and pivot and have a clear vision.

Hopefully the whole team use and learn from this loss to become a better team next season mentally and physically.

Sicario2

Ray agreed. Arteta has now a proven history of coming back from failure (3 2nd places in a row) so let’s hope he can do the same in Europe

JazzG

Ray Winning the CL is hard, took PSG over a decade with god know how much investment to win it. Pep for all his money at City only managed it once, Klopp with his Liverpool side got into multiple finals but apart from beating Spurs fell short. Look at how good Bayern are and they have fallen short. Barca look great but have fallen short.

We need individual match winners, right now we have good system players but against PSG we needed someone with individual quality to make something happen.

JazzG

I think you touched on this in another thread, if we had won the CL it may have made difficult decisions this summer hard to make. It is quite clear our attacking players aren't up to the required standard, if we look at the attacking players we bought last summer they have improved our depth (that was something to be fair which was needed) but none of them have improved our quality. Gyokeres is simply not up to it, Madueke has been very inconsistent and poor end product and Eze bought in the feel good factor but again not improved us.

This summer needs two things need urgently addressing. One is adding numbers in CM, too many seem to have already written of Zubimendi which is silly. Clearly the guy got completely burned out because first half of the season he was among our best players so I'm not sure I buy into this idea he needs to be replaced.

The most important things is we have to improve our attack. Saka has been injured so I am not going to hold this season against him, our fans love to hate him but Havertz is our most reliable CF despite his sometimes erratic finishing he performs in big games. As for who needs to leave, here are my views on some

Jesus - Injuries have finished him but before that his inconsistent finishing.
Martinelli - Simply has not kicked on in years, pains me as really wanted him to do well here
Odegaard - Two bad seasons from our captain, I don't know if his injuries have completely finished him but he simply looks a shadow of the player he once was.

Trossard I'd be open to keeping him as we need numbers but he is 31 so a decision needs to be made. Personally I'd get rid of Gyokeres but realistically that isn't going to happen and not like there are loads of CF options out there. Eze is another who simply has not been anywhere near the required level, signing him. Madueke I think will do better and the fact he is happy to play backup helps, expensive backup though!

This is how we use this failure to fuel us, we improve the squad where it is short.

Burnwinter

It's the Champions League. We're now champions, so now it's our league.

I'd say we don't need the frame of angst-ridden regret as much as we need the frame in which it's acknowledged this was the latest season of Arteta's tenure and the Project™ in which we've taken another big step forward.

Last summer, whatever else, we certainly learnt the lesson of squad depth and of simply not having players like Gyökeres and Eze. Whatever their qualities, those two view winning matches by scoring goals as their vocation. Before them we only had Saka and Trossard within that circle. I can't place forward contributors such as Havertz, Rice, Martinelli, Madueke, Calafiori, Jesus, Gabriel, White, Timber, Skelly or Ødegaard within that circle: I wouldn't agree any of those players clearly view themselves in that spirit. This summer it seems to me we need to bring in a couple more players, signed or coming on, who do see themselves as naturally accountable for end product. Dowman might be one.

awooga83

I think I've seen this reflection a lot and I feel it too. I thought it was a free hit really but that was based on me thinking we don't have enough attacking quality to reliably score so I thought the match will be cash we keep PSG quiet and then see if we are still in it around 65 minutes. I never imagined we would score stuck a fantastic goal and to for one of our players to deliver that in the biggest club match.

The disappointment I feel it's that's a massive opportunity alongside getting to the final in a once off game to produce that it didn't happen too often and I felt we squandered it because we fell into the lets just hold in and having to defend out 90 minutes I think the reality is that's most likely going to lead to them doing something and equalising or totally reversing it which then means you will be heading for penalties at best. With the way we got that lead I didn't think we needed to have the penalty outcome even if before the game I probably would have accepted it.

It's the opportunity that we lost that feels tough and added to the fact I thought the league win would liberate us and we'd see a confident attacking Arsenal but that didn't really materialise either.

I think it's probably a reflection of the end of the road for this style and the type of players we have we need to evolve now or we'll not be delivering this kind of title and I also think the style of play makes it difficult to win the league is very demanding and we've been trying it for multiple years and it only rolled our way this season.

Attack needs upgrading I still want to hope Saka will recover it but there is some big thinking needed for the attacking rebuild which could include needing to address the player what we hoped he might become if he had a similar season next year.

Big Willie Champ

Look, I get the disappointment in the result, but fuck listening to anyone, especially opposition fans who have won fuck all try to mug us off about how were anti football and were destroyed because look at the stats. They had 1.6 xG and the majority of it came from the penalty.

Anyways, I've been one of the biggest critics of our style of play over the years, I'm sure everyone knows that. That being said these types of games are exactly the types of games I would have no issue with us playing this way. In fact these types of games are what our whole style of play is built to win. Especially so when the game transpired the way it did. Going 1 up, defending resolutely against arguably the best 3 attackers in world football and a midfield that is able to suffocate almost anyone and limiting them to scraps. They needed a penalty to equalise ffs.

Whether or not you believe the ref screwed us over from the moment of that Saka corener or not (I do) the fact is we were not under any danger of being destroyed like everyone thought we would and deserved at the minimum to go all the way to pens with them. Whether opposition fans and pundits like it or not, had we won on pens or had Mosq not made that mistake, or had Madueke's oenalty been given, we'd have well deserved our win and pulled off a defensive masterclass.

awooga83

Big Willie Champ I don't care about outlet fans total agree the anti football stuff doesn't matter we need to do what's best for us. I holiday felt the way we went about the game address we scored diminished are chance of winning I think we went to much into the hang on mode. Maybe that's a result if the lack of attacking quality we have right now even amongst players we look to Saka etc but I really felt one more goal settles it and didn't feel well tried enough to push for that.

So it's not because I care about what any rivals think I thought it wasn't the best tactic for us. Exactly the same as England against Italy that we a stupid approach as well.

Sicario2

Panda

Sicario2 Ifs, buts and maybes. No point dwelling. Can't change anything. Time to move on.

Don Pacifico

That's like saying that PSG would have won the match in normal time if it weren't for Miles' block that deflected onto the post. 🤷‍♂️

samthegooner

As others have said here, I think it's ultimately a blessing in disguise. I can rationalize it by saying I do think the best team won, even if we were right there and might have had a good shout to have won it. They were very impressive this campaign and last and it doesn't disappoint me that much that we lost to them. On the flip side, it exposed areas we need to strengthen to not only win it but also to do better in our big matches overall across the year.

mohan

samthegooner I dont think the best team won. We defended very well and they just did not have any answer. The best team did not score at all in open play.

RowJimmy

Sports. Sometimes you lose. Otherwise there would be no point.
Next year will be lots of fun. Enjoy!

Sicario2

RowJimmy losing 5 European finals in a row sucks though. Anyway let’s see what happens in the summer and hopefully we go one better in CL next year.

JazzG

Our problem wasn't how much we defended, our problem is when we were on the ball we were not good enough on it. @Sicario2 posted a clip of Martinelli and him wasting a great opportunity, Saka wasted a good opportunity. When you are in these high stake games you won't get given that many chances, there might be a system issue but I think this more a player issue. How often do we move the move quick and slick for incisive counter attacks? Always too many touches and making the wrong choices.

RowJimmy

JazzG
I don't think the wasted opportunities was really the issue. Opportunities like that require risky passes. I think the problem was that we didn't have an out ball and so didn't get enough of those sorts of opportunities. What I'm not sure about is how much of that is due to our play (Odegaard?) and how much is due to how Havertz was refereed, which I think was more problematic than the Madueke non-call.

Burnwinter

awooga83 That's why trophies shine I guess, reflects all the glare. Just look at City setting up a trophy mausoleum bathed in an array of soft lights for Guardiola, something like the tomb of Tut now his reign as Pharaoh has ended and the 115 signs of plague prophesied for unmeasured aeons are returning to their lands.

Mirth

Burnwinter Enzo Maresca as Imhotep.

awooga83

RowJimmy I do think havertz sometimes good into these times where he plays for fouls which is very frustrating.. He had one recently I can't remember the game exactly but he was going through and would have been clear but went straight for the foul. I'm this game he needed to realise that wasn't going to happen and adapt his approach.