‘We were much better than them’ - Mikel Arteta claims Arsenal were best team in the Champions League as semi-final defeat to PSG leaves Gunners boss ‘upset’

The Gunners saw their European dreams dashed for another season when suffering a 2-1 defeat at Parc des Princes. That result saw Paris Saint-Germain book a final showdown with Serie A giants Inter, as they prevailed 3-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal have now come unstuck in their last four semi-finals (2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 League Cup, 2024-25 League Cup, 2024-25 Champions League), but Arteta believes the final outcome in their latest was unfair on the north London outfit.

The Spanish tactician told TNT Sports: “I don't think there's been a better team in the competition from what I've seen. 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.”

Goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi ultimately saw PSG through, as Bukayo Saka grabbed a solitary reply for Arsenal, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made eight saves across the two legs and Arteta was adamant that his side deserved more from the tie.

He went on to say: “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 well 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.”

Arsenal now have three Premier League fixtures to take in. Through those, they will endeavour to pick up enough points to ensure that they wrap up a top-five finish and book return tickets to the Champions League for 2025-26.