Arsenal news: Champions League exit puts pressure on big summer

After Arsenal’s loss to Paris St-Germain, the immediate talk after the match was how it is now five years since the Gunners have lifted a trophy under Mikel Arteta.

It is not a given that any club should win trophies but Arsenal are excellent under Arteta and the progression he has made at the club means fans feel the next step is winning regular silverware.

Arteta has got Arsenal back into the Champions League and they are consistent title challengers in the Premier League.

However, the same criticism has been repeatedly given to Arteta’s side and that is that they lack a cutting edge in the final third.

They have suffered injuries but there have been many games this season where Arsenal have dominated, had chances but not taken them and ultimately lost.

Arsenal finished this semi-final second leg with an expected goal ratio of 3.14. That reads like Arsenal were wasteful in front of goal which is not the whole story.

A huge part of the reason that Arsenal couldn’t score was the excellent performances of Gianluigi Donnarumma across both ties, but there were also occasions where balls into the box were not attacked as Arsenal do not have a natural goalscorer in their squad.

The Gunners have been linked with Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak and all are liked internally but there is a huge summer ahead for Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta.

Isak would be hugely expensive, Newcastle will not want to sell their top scorer and a deal will be even harder to do if they qualify for the Champions League.

There is no doubt Arsenal must sign a striker this summer but the challenge will be navigating a market where everyone knows what they need.