The mood inside the Emirates shifted palpably after the final whistle on Tuesday night. A 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg left Arsenal facing the familiar specter of a season slipping away without silverware. For Mikel Arteta, the loss was not just a tactical blow—it reopened long-simmering questions about his ability to deliver trophies at one of England‘s most demanding clubs.
No one knows that pressure better than Jens Lehmann. The former Arsenal goalkeeper, a pivotal figure in the club’s famed “Invincibles” era, has seen the emotional arc of title runs and crushing exits. Speaking to talkSPORT in the wake of the PSG defeat, Lehmann offered both praise and a pointed warning for the man now patrolling the touchline.
“I think he started with a bad start, but you have to give a lot of credit to him,” Lehmann said. “He pulled himself out, he changed the team and now he has made them very stable—and stable at the top, which is fantastic for the current owner, because he generates the money.”
But stability, Lehmann argued, is no longer enough. With over $880 million spent on transfers since Arteta’s appointment in December 2019, expectations have scaled upward. The FA Cup triumph in 2020 offered an early sign of promise, yet that remains the Spaniard’s only major trophy to date.
“Obviously, he has to win next year,” Lehmann continued. “This year, they could have won [the Premier League], Man City dropped a little bit, Liverpool replaced them.”
The German, famously sent off in the 2006 Champions League final, added that a shift in Arteta’s temperament may be required to take Arsenal over the line.
“He probably needs to change his personality a little bit to win things,” Lehmann said. “Because sometimes, it’s [about] control and being cautious. But if you want to win some things, in my opinion you could be a little more risky.”
For now, Arteta remains defiant. “It’s just half-time,” he said after the loss. “We go to Paris to win, and I fully believe that we can do it.”
Lehmann, too, remains hopeful—but his message is unmistakable. For all the progress and promise of the past five years, results must follow. And soon.
