Clarence Seedorf believes Arsenal had a “fear to win” against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to the French champions on Tuesday evening thanks to a fourth-minute Ousmane Dembele goal.
PSG were the better side and have a crucial advantage going into the second leg at home next Wednesday.
After knocking out Real Madrid in the quarter-final, Arsenal would have fancied their chances of winning the first leg and perhaps that expectation took its toll on their performance.
Four-time Champions League winner Seedorf believes “the fear to win kicked in” and cost Mikel Arteta’s side in their 1-0 defeat.
“Winning some matches is one thing and winning the Champions League is another,” Seedorf said. “I think the fear to win kicked in today.
“I am an Arsenal fan in terms of how they have played over the years but I’ve always said for them to elevate to that winning club, there has to be a shift in mentality.
“I saw Paris Saint-Germain doing what I expected Arsenal to do, knowing when to press high, go low and sit back and wait for the opponent to force a pass and then counter attack. This is how you have to play in the Champions League and I didn’t see that at all from Arsenal.”
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney echoed Seedorf’s comments, saying that he believes Arsenal have a ‘psychological fear’ holding them back from winning the biggest prizes.
He said: “I think for Arsenal, there’s a fear. Over the last few years there’s a fear, psychologically there’s a fear of just not getting over the line.
“We’ve seen it, they’ve ran Manchester City close a few times in the league, they’ve ran Liverpool a little bit close, now they’ve beat Madrid, there’s a hurdle they have to get over.
“You need to be successful to build.”
Seedorf closed with a positive comment, saying the pressure is off Arsenal for the second leg in the French capital.
“This result might help them be free in the next match, they have nothing to lose,” he added.