After missing out on a place in the Champions League final, Arteta admitted that emotions were running high in the Arsenal dressing room.
Despite losing the Champions League semi-final, Mikel Arteta remained defiant in the face of disappointment. Arsenal bowed out of the tournament on Wednesday, losing 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain. The result ended the Gunners’ hopes of reaching their first Champions League final since 2006, but Arteta firmly believed that his side were still ‘the best team in the competition’.
Arsenal had gone into the second leg at the Parc des Princes trailing 1-0 after a first-leg defeat at the Emirates. Arteta’s men started the second-leg brightly. Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into smart saves from Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard early on, with Bukayo Saka also drawing an excellent stop from the Italian keeper after the break.
PSG, however, proved clinical when it mattered. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring with a powerful strike before Achraf Hakimi doubled the advantage. David Raya had earlier given Arsenal a lifeline by saving Vitinha’s penalty, and Saka’s late goal offered hope. But despite an expected goals (xG) of 3.14, far superior to PSG’s 1.74, Arsenal couldn’t convert their pressure into a comeback.
Speaking after the match, Arteta said,
“When you look at the two games their best player on the pitch has been the goalkeeper, he has been the difference for them in the tie.”
“We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately we are out.”
“I am very proud of the players, 100% I don’t think there’s been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen.”
After missing out on a place in the Champions League final, Arteta admitted that emotions were running high in the Arsenal dressing room, with several players left in tears. The Gunners boss admitted that he was “upset and annoyed” that his team couldn’t find a way to turn the tie around despite a spirited performance. Meanwhile, when asked if he shared Arteta’s sentiment about Arsenal deserving more, PSG manager Luis Enrique disagreed, insisting that his side had earned their place in the final.
Enrique said,
“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all. They played in a clever way and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they wanted, and the way they love. But in the two legs we scored more than them and that is the most important thing in football.”
Having already eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa in the knockout stages, Paris Saint-Germain have now eliminated a third Premier League opponent to book their place in the Champions League final in Munich later this month. Luis Enrique’s side will face Inter Milan as they seek to lift the coveted trophy for the first time.
soccer
