William Gallas is still tormented
by Arsenal's UEFA Champions League exit to PSV Eindhoven and felt
youthfulness was the reason behind the team's downfall.
The Gunners' final hope of a trophy this season disappeared last
Wednesday after a 1-1 home draw to PSV took the Dutch club through
2-1 on aggregate.
Alex's own goal had put Arsenal in front before the Brazilian
defender headed in a free-kick after a foul by Alexander
Hleb.
Gallas felt it was a 'completely stupid' free-kick to give away and
he remains bitter about the way The Gunners crashed out of
Europe.
"Our exit was hard to stomach," Gallas told The Sun. "I think about
it a lot.
"What made it even harder to swallow was I told my team-mates to be
extra careful at set-pieces.
"We conceded the goal as the result of a completely stupid and
needless foul. The ball was in the corner and all we needed to do
was to wait. It was down to youthfulness.
"We lacked finishing skills. We created far more chances than PSV
yet failed to convert a single one. We had to rely on Alex helping
us out by scoring an own goal."
And Gallas concedes it will be difficult to be motivated for the
rest of the season, with third spot in the Premiership the only
target.
He added: "When you are a top-level footballer, victory is the only
thing that counts. But there will be no trophy to lift.
"We will do all we can to finish third, but that is not the target
you dream about.
"Everybody will motivate himself in his own way, but it is not
going to be easy."