Arsenal feel the love after Arteta’s Bigger Cup masterplan falls short

PENS, PAIN AND PARTYING In recent weeks, there has been endless discourse on why so many people hate Arsenal . Yet, yesterday’s parade in the cultural melting pot of north London proved that plenty of people out there really, really, really love them. Due in no small part to the fact that he couldn’t head his penalty and none of his teammates were blocking the PSG goalkeeper, Gabriel Magalhães’ miss from the spot meant the Gunners came up agonisingly short in their latest bid to win Bigger Cup. That didn’t stop the thick end of a million Arsenal fans of every age, stripe and shade from making the pilgrimage to Islington to worship their vanquished heroes. With the Premier League trophy already in the bag, the general mood ratio of unbridled joy to crushing disappointment was about 75-25, a statistic many will recognise as being almost identical to the previous evening’s possession stats in the Puskas Arena. Considering how close they came to actually winning Bigger Cup, Football Daily isn’t about to suggest Mikel Arteta’s approach to the game once his side went a goal up after six minutes was the wrong one. When your greatest strength is your defence and you’re up against the best attacking side on the planet, then clinging on to your lead with an almost-but-not-quite perfect masterclass in backs-to-the-wall defending and breathtaking time-wasting is probably as good a way of going about things as any. …