A frustrated Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal have been the best team in the Champions League this season despite their exit to Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
Arsenal’s European dream was ended by goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, who earned Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win on the night and a Champions League final date with Inter Milan.
The French champions were under immediate pressure as Declan Rice got under a Jurrien Timber cross to head off target, kickstarting a frantic five-minute spell that required Gianluigi Donnarumma to pull off outstanding stops to keep out Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. The early didn’t goal didn’t come and Arsenal were always playing catch-up from that point.
The Gunners have failed to progress from each of their last four major cup semi-finals (2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 League Cup, 2024-25 League Cup, 2024-25 Champions League).
Arteta believes his side deserved to make the final based on the two legs with and hailed Arsenal as the best team in the competition despite the exit.
“I don’t think there’s been a better team in the competition form what I’ve seen,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
“But we are out. We deserved much more but this competition is about the boxes, the strikers most of the time and the goalkeeper and theirs was the best player in both games.
“I’m so proud of the boys, they deserve lots of credit for what they’re doing and the amount of injuries. We arrived here in the worst state. You have to get here with everyone fit and available with lots of minutes. They had a week. We came here in a different context. That gives me a lot of positivity for the future.”
Donnarumma made eight saves and Arsenal created 4.77 worth of expected goals across the two legs but only found the net once as an inability to be clinical with their finishing cost them dear.
Arteta added: “The assessment I’ll make when I’m 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’s made a difference in the tie. We were very close much closer than the results showed but unfortunately we are out. I’m so proud. How we started and handled the pressure – after 20 minutes we should be 3-0 up. But there is something extra in this competition to go your way and it didn’t.
“I’m upset, it has to hurt. If we want to win this competition and we need to realise that. Just understanding that we are out is not the way I look at it.”
