Thibaut Courtois says Real Madrid needed £14m striker vs Arsenal instead of Kylian Mbappe

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Thibaut Courtois has taken aim at Real Madrid’s approach after their Champions League loss to Arsenal and believes the squad lacked the impact of Joselu up front.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team exited the Champions League as Arsenal secured a 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening.

Although Arsenal had a 3-0 lead from the opening leg of the quarter-final last week, Madrid’s players seemed optimistic about turning things around at home.

However, the reigning European champions found it difficult to break down Mikel Arteta’s team and conceded in the second half when Bukayo Saka found the net with a tidy finish.

Vinicius Junior capitalised on an error by William Saliba to level the score, but Madrid were unable to threaten Arsenal further, and the Premier League side, who will now face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final, sealed the win in stoppage time thanks to Gabriel Martinelli.

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Following Madrid’s Champions League elimination, Courtois stated that his side depends too much on *‘individual’* brilliance in attack and remarked that Joselu, who netted 18 goals for the club last season before making a €17 million (£14.4m) switch to Al-Gharafa in Qatar last summer, could’ve added more strength up front against Arsenal.

Joselu hit 18 goals for Real Madrid in the previous campaign (Getty)

*‘We can’t always expect the four up front to dribble past three players and score a great goal. As a team, we have to attack and defend better,’* Courtois said.

*‘In the end, they’re a team that defends well, is well-organised, presses well, and it’s difficult to find space. We put in a lot of crosses, but this year we don’t have Joselu, a natural striker up front.*

*‘We have to analyse carefully what we can do better. We have a lot of season ahead of us, we have the League on the line, the Cup in ten days, and then the Club World Cup. We thank the fans. Thinking about a comeback was great, and I hope we can bring them some joy this season.’*

*‘Sometimes you have to be self-critical and look at everything carefully. Everyone has to do this. I feel like we’re a team, but we have to make more team plays and not just individual ones.*

*‘If they double-mark Vini or Kylian, a two-on-one can work once, but not five times.*

*‘We still have a good final against Barca, La Liga, and the Club World Cup.’*

Elsewhere, Real Madrid skipper Lucas Vazquez criticised Arsenal for *‘coming to defend’* at the Bernabeu.

*‘It’s a difficult moment. We tried, but it was a tough game. We didn’t have all the chances we would have liked,’* Vazquez said to Movistar.

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