Martin Keown has acknowledged that Arsenal displayed a lack of experience during their defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Despite putting up a strong performance for much of the game, the Gunners ultimately conceded a goal to their German opponents.
While Arsenal managed to trouble Bayern’s defence at times, it was evident that Bayern possessed greater experience compared to Mikel Arteta’s side.
As the match reached its conclusion, Arsenal seemed to run out of ideas, as highlighted by their decision-making during a late free-kick opportunity. Instead of opting for a traditional shot at the goal type of free kick, Arsenal chose to play short, resulting in Bayern conceding a corner kick. However, Bukayo Saka’s subsequent corner failed to beat the first Bayern defender, indicating a lack of creativity and execution from Arsenal in crucial moments.
Keown was not impressed and said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
‘It was very disappointing, kind of summed up at the end there when Saka for some reason taking a free kick [short] when there was the opportunity to really test the goalkeeper.
‘You just saw that little bit of lack of experience. There needs to be more urgency in the closing exchanges. Saka made that decision in the moment.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Our players lost the confidence to chase the equaliser late in that game after seeing their hard work undone by the Bayern Munich goal.
However, we expect the team to learn from this experience and do better in the Champions League next season.
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