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'They were probably thinking about the Champions League game'

'They were probably thinking about the Champions League game'

BBC News05-05-2025

Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says Arsenal have lost momentum at a crucial time of the season with the game against Paris St-Germain looming on Wednesday."You want your players to go into a game confident with that winning feeling," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "When you look at how Arsenal lost to Bournemouth, they are going to be very disappointed. It was not a heavily rotated team - it was a strong a team as Arsenal could put out."I think they were probably thinking about the Champions League game during this game. There was too much of that in the back of their mind, which probably caused them to lose to Bournemouth. They have made it difficult for themselves."Former striker Clinton Morrison added: "Arsenal have been poor. I thought this was the greatest opportunity this season for Arsenal to challenge Liverpool because the other teams will be back and competing next season."Mikel Arteta definitely had one eye on PSG but he wanted to win the game for confidence. They didn't perform. They went 1-0 up and they didn't put the ball in the back of the net. There were opportunities to shoot - they want to score the perfect goal. It probably frustrates the Arsenal fans as well. They are frustrating to watch."At the end of the season, if they end up finishing third and get knocked out by PSG, what is that season? That means they have gone basically gone backwards."Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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