Arsenal left the Champions League in the semi -final, but boss Mikel Arteta believes that his team has been the best side in the competition this season
Mikel Arteta insists that there has been no better team this season than Arsenal in the Champions League, despite the exit of the Gunners in the semi -final.
Arteta saw 2-1 with 2-1 losses on Wednesday evening to Paris Saint-Germain to complete a 3-1 total exit to the Ligue 1 side, which will continue to the Munich final later this month to stand against Inter Milan.
The Gunners were 1-0 away from the first stage, but despite making a powerful start of the second and seeing Gianluigi Donnarumma, Saving Fine by Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, they eventually fell short against Luis Enrique's Kant.
Fabian Ruiz shot PSG against the Gunners for the night, and after David Raya saved a penalty from Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi decided the draw effectively with a nice attack. Bukayo Saka withdrew one for the Gunners, but in the end they were well beaten.
Despite the loss, Arteta remained in a bullish mui. He said TNT Sports: “First congratulations with PSG to reach the final. I will make the assessment if I am a little cooler.
“If you look at the two games that were their best player on the field, he has been the difference for them in the draw. We were very close, much closer than the result that turned out, 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 that you need to go your way in the competition and it didn't do it. We were very close and for long periods of both games we were much better than they are, but we are not there and that has to hurt.
“If we want to win this competition, we have to realize that.
When he continued when he thought his side could have won the competition, he added: “100 percent. I don't think there has been a better team [than Arsenal ] In the competition of what I have seen, but we are gone. This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the keepers and those of them were the best in both games.
“I am so proud of the players. They earn a lot of praise for what they do in the context of the situation and the amount of injuries, probably the worst state that you could arrive here as a team. To get here with a different context and still to do that, it gives me a lot of positives for the future, but tonight I am very upset.”