Arsenal has learned a costly lesson after the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the penalty shootout in the UEFA Champions League final. The question now is whether Mikel Arteta is decisive enough to draw the necessary conclusions from that defeat.
Simply put, a team can win the Premier League by building a solid defensive foundation, maximizing set pieces and sometimes willing to use tactical tricks such as time-wasting or putting pressure on the referee.
However, in the Champions League stage, especially in the finals, where teams have to make a difference with quality and bravery, the overly cautious and risk-controlled playing style is often not enough to bring glory.
Arsenal closed the final with a ball possession rate of only 26% - the lowest for a team to participate in a Champions League final since this statistic was recorded in 2004. That number reflects not only PSG's superior ball possession ability but also shows the too cautious approach of the English representative.
Despite only losing to the reigning European champions after a penalty shootout, Arsenal still closed the Champions League campaign in a regretful way. They did not lose any match throughout the tournament if calculated during official playing time, but in the end still could not lift the most prestigious club-level European cup.
That partly accurately reflects the nature of Arsenal under Arteta. Solidity is an important factor helping Arsenal end 22 years of waiting for the Premier League title. However, in Budapest, after Kai Havertz opened the score in the sixth minute, the London team almost only focused on preserving the advantage instead of looking for a second or third goal to finish off the opponent.
The focus of the match gradually shifted from professional quality to matches of psychology and tricks. "The Gunners" continuously used time-wasting situations, slowed down the pace of the match and tried to break PSG's excitement. Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard both had falls in the penalty area but could not bring in free kicks.
Those actions made coach Luis Enrique repeatedly express his frustration outside the touchline. The Spanish strategist even continuously pointed to the clock to ask the referee to accurately calculate added time.
According to statistics, Arsenal interrupted the match for 31 minutes and 42 seconds by delaying serves, free kicks, throw-ins, corner kicks and kicks. This number was significantly higher than PSG's 22 minutes and 12 seconds.
Defender Cristhian Mosquera received a yellow card just one minute after the second half started for being slow to execute a throw-in. However, that was only part of the bigger picture when the entire Arsenal team returned to the field more than two minutes later than the opponent after halftime.
Those actions may make the opponent uncomfortable, but also raise the question of whether the benefits they bring are really commensurate. Instead of reducing PSG's determination, Arsenal's tactics seem to only make the French team play more decisively. On a more effective finishing day, PSG could completely finish the match much earlier.
Meanwhile, Arsenal remained loyal to the familiar formula: organizing tight defense, maintaining reasonable formation distance, limiting opponent's playing space and trying to slow down the pace of the match.
Those are legitimate tactics in modern football. However, they are not always suitable for the position of a team wanting to conquer the Champions League.
Liverpool and Manchester City have won Europe in recent years thanks to their spirit of being ready to attack and take risks against the strongest opponents. Arsenal has not yet shown that.
After the defeat to PSG, Arteta admitted that Arsenal needs to make important decisions if they want to reach a new level: "We will have to make very important decisions if we want to reach a different level. That requires ambition, speed and intelligence.
