No more excuses after Gunners' heartbreak

The summer transfer challenge is clear on a night of 'what ifs' against Europe's outstanding team.

- By Malik Ouzia in Paris

For Arsenal this has been a season defined by wasted opportunities and littered with what-ifs; by red cards, injuries and forgetting the credit card PIN in January.

But when Mikel Arteta reflects on the campaign this summer, he will not find a night with greater concentration of nearly-moments than this one.

What if Declan Rice had not headed just wide right at the top of a blistering Arsenal start? What if first Gabriel Martinelli and then Martin Odegaard had not been thwarted by the giant and infuriatingly brilliant goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, before ten minutes were even out? What if Bukayo Saka had scored from Riccardo Calafiori’s cross late on to make it 3-2 on aggregate and put Paris Saint-Germain’s famously brittle bottle to the ultimate test?

Hypotheticals, though, do not count for much at this stage of the Champions League. Too many chances, not enough taken, the story of Arsenal’s campaign. “The fact is that we are out,” Arteta said. “If we want to improve and we want to win it, we can never look back at ‘If, if!’

PSG had a few “ifs” of their own and were too good anyway. Across the course of the tie they attacked with a different energy and aura, scoring three fine goals — from Ousmane Dembele in London, as well as Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi here. They could have had several more in this second leg alone, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia clipping the post and Vitinha watching a poor penalty saved.