Wayne Rooney was critical of Arsenal and the Gunners fans after the Champions League semi-final first leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, accusing them of thinking they’d ‘walk’ into the final.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to the Ligue 1 side at the Emirates Stadium, where Ousmane Dembele’s fourth-minute strike proved to be the only goal of the game. Arsenal attempted to rally in the remainder of the first period, but ultimately they were fortunate to only lose by one goal.
PSG substitutes Desire Doue and Goncalo Ramos both came close in the closing moments of the game, and the Gunners will perhaps be grateful to only be facing a one-goal deficit when they go to Paris next Wednesday.
And Manchester United and England legend Rooney accused the Gunners fans of thinking their side would progress easily after their 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Video, Rooney said: “PSG could have won the game by two or three. I was a bit disappointed with how Arsenal played and the fans too. It was subdued. It was like they beat Real Madrid and would walk into the final.”
Rooney also criticised Arsenal’s performance, claiming that goalkeeper David Raya’s post-match interview was far too positive for the performance that was given.
He said: “I think what’s happened there is Mikel Arteta’s probably gone in and tried to be as positive as he can be and David Raya has given that message back out because certainly that’s not what happened in the game.”
Rooney also claimed that the result showed just where Arsenal have been falling short in recent seasons under Arteta.
He said: “I think for Arsenal there’s a fear over the last few years, psychologically, there’s a fear of not getting over the line. They’ve ran Manchester City close a couple of times in the league, they’ve ran Liverpool a little bit close, now they’ve beaten Madrid and they’re close in the Champions League… I think there’s a fear. There’s a hurdle they have to go over.
“You need to be successful to build, and that’s the only way you can build is being successful on the way on the journey to the top, and I don’t think they’re making those steps.”
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