Arteta Explains Reasons for Elimination from the Champions League

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta appeared in press statements after being eliminated from the semi-finals of the Champions League, against Paris Saint-Germain, losing 1-0 in the first leg and 2-1 in the second leg.

The coach said in his remarks: "First, I congratulate Paris Saint-Germain on reaching the final. I will evaluate this matter when I calm down a bit."

He added: "When you look at the two matches, you find that their best player on the field is the goalkeeper, and he made the difference in the match. We were very close, much closer than the score showed, but unfortunately, we were eliminated. I am very proud of the players."

He continued: "After 20 minutes, we should have been ahead 3-0. There is an additional factor we need to win the tournament, but that did not happen. We were very close, and for long periods of the matches, we were much better than them, but we were not at the required level, and that is unfortunate."

He emphasized: "If we want to win this tournament, we have to realize that there are some things that fall on us. We should not just be satisfied with understanding that we were eliminated. This is not how I see it, for sure, I do not think there is a team better than Arsenal in the tournament based on what I saw, but we were eliminated. This tournament relies on defense, but also on strikers and goalkeepers, and their performance was the best in both matches."

He concluded: "I am very proud of the players. They deserve all the appreciation for what they are doing under the current circumstances and the number of injuries, which is perhaps the worst situation the team can reach here. Coming here in a different situation and continuing in this way gives me a lot of positives for the future, but tonight I feel a great disappointment."