Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to PSG this summer just gone will still be lingering around painfully for some.
A penalty shootout defeat proved to be the agonising end Arsenal fans were dreading and after going the entire Champions League campaign undefeated, it was a bitter pill to swallow at the death.
The Gunners pushed the French champions all the way but came up just short.
And according to current Arsenal stopper David Raya, there were at least a couple of aspects the team could have done better.
David Raya explains where Arsenal could have been better against PSG
For many Arsenal fans, it was a bit of a missed opportunity in the final against PSG. While the French side had their chances and were good, Arsenal also had control of the game at times and could have capitalised further.
Indeed, according to goalkeeper David Raya, Arsenal could have been better when they did have the ball, particularly in attacking areas.
“I thought we defended very well, we could have been better on the ball and we could have created more chances, but at the end of the day it’s football and that’s the way it was,” Raya explained on the Beyond the Box podcast.
“I look at it very proud of what we did and how we did during the Champions League campaign, we didn’t lose a game!”
The stats that show Arsenal weren’t good enough against PSG
Arsenal were always going to have less of the ball than PSG in that final. It’s just how most games against Luis Enrique’s side go.
However, as Raya mentions, when Arsenal did have the ball and did get in the final third, it wasn’t quite good enough.
As we can see from the stats from the game, PSG were simply better when it mattered.
Clearly, this is something Arsenal will need to work on if they are to become kings of Europe.
Mikel Arteta will already know this and over the course of the campaign, it will be interesting to see if the Gunners do start to be more ball dominant.