Arsenal crash out of Champions League to PSG as Gunners go trophyless again - 5 talking points

Arsenal's run without a trophy will stretch to five years after the Gunners were unable to turn the tables against a vibrant Paris Saint-Germain in Paris.

Despite a superb start from Mikel Arteta's men - which featured excellent saves from PSG skipper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard - it was PSG who took the lead on the night when Fabian Ruiz blasted in from the edge of the box to .

David Raya saved Vitinha's penalty to stop PSG extending their lead in the second period, before Achraf Hakimi fired past the Spanish goalkeeper to effectively put the tie beyond doubt. did pull one back for the Gunners four minutes later, but Mikel Arteta's side ultimately fell short.

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PSG advance to the final in Munich, where they will face Serie A outfit Inter Milan after , with Arsenal left to reflect on another campaign without silverware, with their most recent trophy coming with their success in 2020. Here are the game's main talking points.

1. Arsenal get directly to the point, but fail to make one

It is one thing to talk about making a confident start in the situation found themselves in at kick off, but it is another to go about it in quite the way they did. The Gunners were sensational, not in a pretty footballing sense, but in a show of their raw power.

could have done better with his early header, before Donnarumma saved first impressively from Martinelli and then superbly from Odegaard, with all of these efforts coming in between the aerial bombardment served up by Thomas Partey's long throws.

Arsenal were brave and determined to show that they possessed the physical power that would be required to turn this tie around, dominating possession and pushing their opponents back. They failed to find the net in their opening salvo though, and you always got the sense they'd regret that.

2. Fabian Ruiz's bolt from the bleu

Just because you know something is coming doesn't mean you can do anything about it, and while Rice will regret the error that led to the free-kick, Partey's clearing header wasn't great and Martinelli will have wanted to get a bit closer to Ruiz, the explosion from the Spanish international's left boot was something to behold.

Yes it got a nick off William Saliba, but it was past from the moment he hit it, and off the back of Arsenal's early dominance - and in the immediate aftermath of Khvicha Kvaratshkelia striking the post - it represented a shift in the tie that felt terminal.

3. Gianluigi Donnarumma stands up tall again

If PSG are to win this Champions League then their goalkeeper is going to have played an enormous part in it. Donnarumma, the former AC Milan wonderkid, will go into battle against his old rivals in remarkable form.

The Italian isn't often immediately turned to when the best No.1s in the are named, but across this European campaign he's been something else, keeping out Liverpool at Anfield, coming up with some vital saves at Villa Park and then stopping Arsenal's early onslaught here. The Euro 2020 winner has another big date ahead of him in the final, and he's still just 26.

4. There will be time to assess Arsenal's season, but it's clear what is needed next

There will be no final for Arsenal then, with a often bruising season effectively coming to an end in the French capital. That said they still have three games left to play starting with a trip to on Sunday which surely won't be welcome, and the only goal now is to finish as runners-up to the champions.

Much has been said and written about Arsenal's campaign, and while injuries clearly played their part in their falling short there have to be lessons learned for to build upon what he's got in place.

The Arsenal boss has been all bluster of late, perhaps frustrated that the plan he hatched to solidify his team hasn't borne fruit with trophies this season. But in truth Arsenal were never fluid in attack before their much-discussed injuries, and building a creative and attacking excellence upon this sturdy platform surely has to be Arteta's summer goal. After all, their most dangerous weapon in a Champions League semi-final was a long throw.

5. We could get a final for the ages

So the Munich final will see a first Inter victory in 15 years or a first Paris Saint-Germain one ever. At the end of a season when the Champions League format was shaken up it feels somewhat fitting.

Inter's forceful, emotional football which was on show in both legs against will stand them in good stead, but the amount of people queueing up to acclaim PSG as the best side in Europe right now - with the latest - is no coincidence.

We're all set up for a classic.

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