Mikel Arteta reveals what PSG coaches told him after Arsenal defeat
Mikel Arteta (Picture TNT Sport) Mikel Arteta revealed that Paris Saint-Germain’s coaches believed Arsenal played better than them in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg. Trailing 1-0 after the first leg at the Emirates, Arsenal started brightly but saw early chances denied by the superb Gianluigi Donnarumma. And PSG took advantage from there, scoring either side of half time through Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi to put Luis Enrique’s side in control Arsenal continued to battle away – and pulled one goal back through Bukayo Saka – but the Gunners fell short, ultimately losing 3-1 on aggregate. The result was a bitter pill to swallow for Arteta, who believed his side had been the better team for large periods of the clash at the Parc des Princes. Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. And the Spaniard revealed that even those in the PSG dugout felt the same at full-time. ‘First congratulations to PSG for reaching the final,’ he told TNT Sports. Mikel Arteta cut a frustrated figure at full-time (Picture: Getty) PSG advance to the final where they will face Inter Milan (Picture: Getty) ‘The assessment I will make when I am a little cooler but the feedback I got straight away from their bench is that we were much better than them ‘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 Arsenal failed to take chances early in the contest (Picture: Getty) ‘After 20 minutes it should have been 3-0. There is something extra you need to go your way in the competition and it didn’t. We were very close and for long periods of both games we were much better than them but we are not there and that has to hurt.’ While Arsenal were eventually made to pay for not taking their chances early in the second leg, Arteta was confident his side’s performance showed they were still the competition’s best side despite their exit. ‘I don’t think there’s been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out,’ he added. ‘This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and there’s was the best in both games. ‘But I am so proud of the players. They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing in the context of the situation and the amount of injuries, probably the worst state you could arrive here as a team. ‘To come here with a different context and still do that, it gives me a lot of positives for the future but tonight I am very upset.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mikel Arteta revealed that Paris Saint-Germain’s coaches believed Arsenal played better than them in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg.
Trailing 1-0 after the first leg at the Emirates, Arsenal started brightly but saw early chances denied by the superb Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And PSG took advantage from there, scoring either side of half time through Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi to put Luis Enrique’s side in control
Arsenal continued to battle away – and pulled one goal back through Bukayo Saka – but the Gunners fell short, ultimately losing 3-1 on aggregate.
The result was a bitter pill to swallow for Arteta, who believed his side had been the better team for large periods of the clash at the Parc des Princes.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
And the Spaniard revealed that even those in the PSG dugout felt the same at full-time.
‘First congratulations to PSG for reaching the final,’ he told TNT Sports.
‘The assessment I will make when I am a little cooler but the feedback I got straight away from their bench is that we were much better than them
‘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
‘After 20 minutes it should have been 3-0. There is something extra you need to go your way in the competition and it didn’t. We were very close and for long periods of both games we were much better than them but we are not there and that has to hurt.’
While Arsenal were eventually made to pay for not taking their chances early in the second leg, Arteta was confident his side’s performance showed they were still the competition’s best side despite their exit.
‘I don’t think there’s been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out,’ he added.
‘This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and there’s was the best in both games.
‘But I am so proud of the players. They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing in the context of the situation and the amount of injuries, probably the worst state you could arrive here as a team.
‘To come here with a different context and still do that, it gives me a lot of positives for the future but tonight I am very upset.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
