Mikel Arteta shared that the disappointment was overwhelming, revealing that some of his players broke down in tears in the dressing room after the crushing semi-final defeat. ..Continue Reading
The Gunners’ hopes of reaching Munich were dashed on Wednesday night, as they struggled to overturn the deficit from the first leg. The emotional toll was evident among the squad after the match.
Arteta later claimed that PSG staff had admitted Arsenal had been the superior side for large portions of the tie, despite the Premier League club losing both legs—1-0 at the Emirates and 2-1 at the Parc des Princes.
Arsenal registered 19 attempts on goal in the second leg, yet only managed to hit the target four times, with Gianluigi Donnarumma pulling off crucial saves to deny them a way back into the contest.
Fabian Ruiz extended PSG’s lead before Achraf Hakimi’s strike effectively sealed the result, despite Bukayo Saka pulling one back late on to briefly spark hope.
When asked after the game if he felt his Arsenal players still have ‘the hunger in their eyes’ after more frustration in their quest for a major trophy, Arteta said: “Today I see how much they want it because they [Arsenal players] were in tears.”
The Spaniard then said that members of the PSG staff told him and his backroom team that they were the better team. “I think so yeah [we were better]. Especially for 160 minutes. They told us,” he said.
“I congratulate PSG for being in the final. I think we deserve much more. The MVP in the two games has been the goalkeeper. He has won the game for them.
“You have to arrive in this competition at this stage with a full squad. I am so upset, so annoyed that we didn’t manage to do that. I feel proud because no one expected it [Arsenal to reach the final]. We were very close to making it happen.”
Arsenal’s Declan Rice told TNT Sports: “I thought we were dominant today, if we score one of them chances in the first 15-20 minutes then the game changes. It was two mistakes from us and two goals for them. We gave it everything but it wasn’t meant to be.
“Over the two legs we could’ve scored more goals but Donnarumma has been unbelievable and it wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes you have to lose a few in order to win and overcome setbacks to grow as a player and as a group.
“We’re going through that at the moment in terms of the league and Champions League – we’ve been here back-to-back seasons – we’re growing as a team but we need to keep pushing and believing. We’re absolutely gutted but this doesn’t define us for sure.
“We’ll be stronger with our players back who have been out for a long time. We’re all desperate for it [a trophy]. That’s why we play football, we want to win trophies, we want to be at the pinnacle, winning stuff. For whatever reason it hasn’t been meant to be.
“We’ve been really close and it’s not good enough. Arsenal deserve to be pushing for trophies and winning things but there’s not a lot more we can be doing. A lot of superstars have suffered defeats to come out on top.
“It hurts, you see the boys, the manager. We wanted to be in Munich but this doesn’t define us and we’ll be back.”
While captain Martin Odegaard told the same broadcaster: “We gave it a proper go. We started the game really well. We were on the front foot, had the momentum, a few big chances but in the end it wasn’t enough. Between the boxes we did well inside the two over the two games we weren’t good enough.
“Credit to their goalkeeper who made amazing saves. It wasn’t enough and that’s painful. We were not strong enough in the boxes and that’s where we lost it.
“It’s painful, we wanted to do the big thing, a big goal in the league and the Champions League. Massive disappointment but we have to stay strong and together. Take the lessons, take the pain and use it to come back stronger.
“We have to learn from this. We did a lot of good things but it’s not enough. In front of goal is where games are decided and that’s where we have to be sharper. We have to use this pain in a good way.”
