Keown: Arsenal Must Upgrade Striker and Left-Wing After Champions League Heartbreak

Arsenal's Champions League dream ended in anguish on Saturday evening as Paris Saint-Germain prevailed 4-3 on penalties in the final, with Ousmane Dembele's successful spot-kick cancelling out Kai Havertz's first-half goal after 90 minutes of normal time.

The setback means another year without a European Cup for the Gunners, though they can at least celebrate claiming the Premier League title with a parade through north London on Sunday.

Martin Keown, the Arsenal legend, has wasted little time identifying where the club should focus their summer business. Speaking to TNT Sports, the former defender pinpointed the striking department and left-wing as areas requiring strengthening, with Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta expected to have funds available after last summer's £250m investment.

Havertz started in place of Viktor Gyokeres and opened the scoring, yet his ongoing injury troubles—having completed just two full matches in 18 months—raised eyebrows. Gyokeres, meanwhile, endured a difficult evening from the bench, prompting Keown to suggest both positions warrant examination.

"They may look again at the striker," Keown explained. "Kai Havertz played 90 minutes tonight but it's only the second full game he's finished in 18 months. With Viktor Gyokeres, it was a difficult night for him, so that could be an area Arsenal look at. Maybe left-wing as well. Mikel Arteta will strengthen, there's no doubt about that."

Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool midfielder, echoed those sentiments, emphasizing the demands of Arsenal's fixture congestion. The Gunners completed their 63rd game of the season on Saturday, a workload requiring multiple attacking options.

"You need more than one top striker, you might even need more than two," Gerrard told TNT Sports. "You need to keep refreshing, you fix the roof when the sun's shining. Arsenal are in a magnificent place. But the level and the amount of games means you have to keep adding to it and moving players on who have hit their ceiling or look like they're in decline. They're not far away from being a dominant team, I just think they need a few more game-changers at the top of the pitch."

The penalty shootout proved cruel for Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes, who both saw their efforts saved. Declan Rice, who successfully converted his penalty, offered his teammates sympathetic words whilst highlighting their contributions throughout the campaign.

"To miss a penalty in a Champions League final, obviously it's not nice. But we love them and we're with them," Rice said. "It happens in football. They're not going to be the last players to miss penalties in finals. Everyone has missed a penalty and without those two this season we wouldn't have won the Premier League, that's for sure.

"Gabriel, I've run out of words for him as a person and as a player. Eze has scored some crucial goals for us this season. It happens. It's football and it's cruel. We take the positives and keep going."