Carragher rejects 'tactical masterclass' claim as Arsenal face summer rebuild after PSG final defeat

Arsenal’s Champions League dream ended in Budapest on Saturday as Paris Saint-Germain beat the Gunners 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra time, and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has wasted little time in challenging the narrative around Mikel Arteta’s approach to the final.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher was confronted by an Arsenal supporter who described Arteta’s game plan as a “tactical masterclass.” His response was immediate and blunt: “It wasn’t.”

Carragher then elaborated on his reasoning, acknowledging the fine line between genius and failure in such occasions. “I probably shouldn’t have been so forthright there,” he said. “If you win that, it’s seen as a tactical masterclass, a [Jose] Mourinho masterclass. You think of how highly regarded Brian Clough is in this country for what he did in European Cup finals [with Nottingham Forest]. They won it in that type of way, they were that type of team.”

The pundit stopped short of placing the blame squarely on Arteta, instead questioning whether the squad’s attacking options are simply not at the required level. “I don’t know if it’s Arteta or if the actual players in the attack are not quite good enough,” Carragher said. “But you had a favourable run to get there, and then you didn’t lose to PSG. To not lose a game in the Champions League is unbelievable and not win it. I just think you’ve got to get better attackers or you’ve got to go for it a little bit more.”

The defeat was particularly painful given the context. Arsenal had lifted the Premier League trophy just days before the final, arriving in Budapest with the chance to complete a historic domestic and European double.

Arteta, for his part, signalled that the club is prepared to act decisively in the transfer market. “We start to make some very important decisions if we want to reach another level,” the Arsenal manager said after the match. “And we’re going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it, but it’s going to demand to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.”

With the Champions League now over and the Premier League title already secured, Arsenal’s summer will be defined by how aggressively they address the attacking deficiencies that Carragher and others have identified as the barrier between this squad and European glory.