Former England player and Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney did not hold back in his evaluation of Arsenal’s performance, especially disparaging the midfield trio of Mikel Merino, Declan Rice, and Martin.
Tuesday’s opening leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal narrowly lost 1-0 to Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint- Germain.
Rooney claims that a major contributing cause to the Gunners’ loss was their erratic pressing.
” Arsenal’s middle three was all over the place. Like you witnessed on the first goal, they were creating large gaps as they tried to push the ball at every possibility. PSG will penalise you for that,” Rooney remarked during his post-game analysis.
“They should keep in shape and let PSG have some ball time. PSG more than Arsenal finds this kind of frantic pressure fit,” he said.
The 39-year-old also voiced his dissatisfaction with the Emirates’ environment, juxtaposing it with the enthusiasm the supporters shown during Arsenal’s quarter-final triumph against Real Madrid.
“Although the way Arsenal performed disappointed me, the fans let me down a little as well. The supporters of Real Madrid were outstanding; they truly challenged the players. It simply seemed a little subdued tonight,” he said.
“It was a premonition rather than a climax. They beat Madrid and most likely assumed they were headed into the championship game. The players need help; tonight, on or off the pitch, it was inadequate.
In the second leg in Paris, the Gunners will now have an uphill challenge and must react forcefully to maintain their dreams for Champions League alive.
