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Paris Saint-Germain v Arsenal FC - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second LegGetty Images Sport

'That was Arsenal's best chance' - Alan Shearer reveals where Champions League semi-final against PSG was lost as Declan Rice is told he 'should have done better'

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  • PSG won 3-1 on aggregate
  • Arsenal were 1-0 down from first leg
  • Did not manage to score first
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Arsenal's Champions League journey ended in disappointment as they failed to overcome PSG in the semi-finals. While the Gunners showed glimpses of their attacking prowess, they ultimately lacked the clinical edge and tactical flexibility to break down a well-organised PSG side. Missed chances, particularly in the early stages of the second leg, proved costly, and the French side's counter-attacking threat exposed vulnerabilities in Arsenal's defence.

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  • Paris Saint-Germain v Arsenal FC - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second LegGetty Images Sport

    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Arsenal had multiple attempts at goal, as both Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli saw their efforts brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, while Declan Rice sent a free header wide of the post from six yards out. Shearer believes their failure to score early was their undoing in Paris.

  • WHAT SHEARER SAID

    Shearer said on The Rest is Football: "The way that Arsenal started the game, I felt they had to score because they were battering them for the first 10 or 15 minutes. They were causing them all sorts of problems from long throws, or set-pieces, they had the Martinelli chance, Donnarumma saved it. They had the Declan Rice header. He should have done better. Obviously the Odegaard shot and then once it just settled down a little bit, I thought that was Arsenal's best chance and and that that was their chance to put PSG under pressure and they obviously didn't. And I always felt from then onwards it was going to be a tough ask."

  • Mikel Arteta

    WHAT NEXT?

    Arsenal face Liverpool this weekend but face giving the champions a guard of honour.