Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League unceremoniously after losing both legs of their semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG claimed a crucial 1-0 victory in London before clinching a 2-1 win yesterday to send Arsenal packing and keep them waiting for their first Champions League title.
However, despite the consensus opinion being that PSG outplayed Arsenal across both legs, manager Mikel Arteta was defiant in his post-match press conference.
Arteta said (via TNT Sports): “Congratulations to PSG for reaching the final.
“The assessment I will make when I am a little bit cooler, but the feeling I get from their bench was that we were much better than them.
“Over the two legs, the best player on the pitch was their goalkeeper. He made a difference in the tie.
“I don’t think there’s been a better team (than Arsenal) in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out.
“This competition is about the boxes, and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers, and theirs was the best in both games.”
Arteta lacks class after PSG deservedly reach the final
After the limp exit, you would think some humility was in order. But no, Arteta chose the baffling route of self-congratulation.
According to the Spaniard, Arsenal were the better team despite failing to win either leg, scoring just once over 180 minutes, and being completely outmanoeuvred by PSG.
Donnarumma may have made some solid saves, but let us not pretend Arsenal were battering down the gates of the Parc des Princes. They were not good enough.
Arteta’s claim that Arsenal have been the best team in the competition is pure fantasy.
The best teams win, adapt and deliver when it matters, not when the whistle has already blown on another fruitless campaign.
This marks five years since Arteta last lifted a trophy with Arsenal. Five years of project talk, process talk and now this delusion dressed up as defiance.
Enough with the excuses. Football is a results business, and the result here is simple. The best team won, and it wasn’t Arsenal.
