ESPN pundit Craig Burley has called out Arsenal for their tactics in their loss against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final.
Arsenal's quest for a maiden Champions League title ended in vain after they were defeated on penalties by a 4-3 margin by the reigning champions PSG. The Gunners took an early lead through Kai Havertz and didn't concede a shot on goal in the first half.
Ousmane Dembele equalized in the second half after converting a penalty following a silly foul conceded by Cristhian Mosquera on Kvicha Kvaratskhelia. The game ended 1-1, and the teams couldn't be separated even after extra time.
Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes missed their respective penalties, which shattered the North London club's dream of European glory. Questions were asked of the Gunners' tactics to sit back and defend after taking an early lead. Pundit Craig Burley said (via Metro):
"Let’s lay it out on the table, when they scored after six minutes, they tried to defend their way to the 90th minute. Had it been PSG who scored after six minutes, they would have carried on attacking, probing, and trying to win the game. And that’s the contrast in how these two teams approach, not only the final, but also 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"
Pundit slams Arsenal kick-off routine in Champions League final
In the same discussion, Burley was also critical of the Gunners' hoofing the ball into opposition territory from kick-off. He said:
"Three times from a kick-off, they’ve lobbed it forward like it was a game of rugby, 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.
"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."