Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said it is “embarrassing” that Arsenal have won only two European trophies and their domestic success will “carry less weight unless they win the Champions League.”
Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title and now have a chance to create history when they face holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on May 30.
Carragher, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, said that Arsenal’s global perception will be transformed if they beat PSG in Budapest.
“For a club of Arsenal’s standing, possessing only two European trophies in nearly 140 years is embarrassing, especially given some of the extraordinary players and managers who have defined an otherwise rich history,” Carragher wrote in The Telegraph.
“Achievements at home, regardless of how unprecedented or dominant, carry less weight if they are not elevated by European glory.
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“No club can join the pantheon of Europe‘s footballing legends without the greatest prize.
“Arsenal are a giant of English football, but they remain European minnows until they win the Champions League.”
Arsenal’s only European honours are the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, won in 1970, and the Cup Winners’ Cup, lifted in 1994 — two competitions that no longer exist.
PSG eliminated Arsenal in the Champions League semifinal last year, winning 3-1 on aggregate, and went on to thrash Inter Milan 5-0 to lift the trophy for the first time.
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“Saturday’s opponents, PSG, are the most recent example of how a club is elevated after a European triumph,” Carragher wrote.
“Until Luis Enrique’s victory last year, PSG had to accept the constant criticism that they were big fish in the smaller pond of French football.
“Arsenal’s best chance of victory, however, is to be the best version of Arsenal they can be. Trying to match PSG’s style will fail.”
