Arsenal savaged by French press with Mikel Arteta accused of having ‘no plan B’ – while Gunners star labelled ‘unremarkable’ as PSG reach Champions League final

French newspaper L’Equipe have taken aim at Arsenal stars and manager Mikel Arteta after the Gunners were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.

PSG earned a 2-1 victory over the Gunners in the second leg of their semi-final on Tuesday, sealing a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Arsenal had begun brightly in the second leg as they aimed to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced several fine saves in the early stages to repel Arsenal, before the French side took control of the second leg through Fabian Ruiz’s effort from distance.

French newspaper L’Equipe hailed Donnarumma’s performance in the tie, with the shot-stopper receiving the highest rating with a score of 9/10.

‘The Italian maintained his top-level standards from 2025 and was one of the heroes of the qualification campaign,’ L’Equipe wrote.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was seen as the best player on the pitch in Wednesday’s semi-final

Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly was highlighted among the players to have struggled

‘He first kept Paris alive in a fiery start with a first exploit past Odegaard, he produced another exceptional header to save a curling shot from Saka.’

Ruiz and Joao Neves’ performances were also highlighted with score of 8/10, with the former labelled as the ‘best proof’ of PSG’s progress their year as the outlet lauded the Spaniard’s goal as an ‘incredible left footed gem’.

Arsenal players received brutal ratings from the newspaper, with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino receiving scores of 3/10 for their performances.

Teenager Lewis-Skelly’s performance was compared unfavourably to his display against Real Madrid in the last eight.

‘So brilliant in the quarter-finals against Real, so unremarkable in the semi-finals,’ L’Equipe wrote.

‘He lost too many balls, including one very close call, and above all, he conceded a penalty for a handball that could have put an end to the Gunners’ last hopes.’

Partey’s role in both of PSG’s goals on the night contributed to his low rating with Ruiz scoring after his headed clearance for the first, before being beaten to the ball by Ousmane Dembele for Achraf Hakimi’s effort.

Stand-in forward Merino’s failure to have a shot on target was noted, with the Spaniard criticised for dropping too deep rather than attempting to get on the end of crosses by Saka.

Donnarumma was the highest ranked player on the pitch while Myles Lewis-Skelly was one of three Arsenal stars to receive 3/10 ratings

Thomas Partey’s role in both PSG goals led to the midfielder receiving a lowly 3/10 rating

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s peformance was deemed ‘insufficient’ for the semi-final 

Captain Martin Odegaard was one of four Arsenal players given a 4/10 score, along with Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior and Gabriel Martinelli.

While Odegaard was seen to have improved from his disappointing display in the first leg, the Norwegian’s contribution was seen as ‘insufficient’ for a Champions League semi-final.

Arteta also came under fire with the Arsenal boss deemed to have been unable to adapt after their early pressure failed to pay off.

‘It feels like he had a plan A but no plan B, unable to adapt to PSG’s opening goal,’ L’Equipe.

‘He waited until Paris were awarded a penalty (69th minute) to make his first changes while his team was struggling, but he failed to give his team a second wind.’

His counterpart Luis Enrique was seen as being ‘loud, grumbling and angry on the bench’, but the faith he has showed his team throughout the competition was seen as being key to PSG managing their semi-final tie.