• [Dailystar Icon]
• Sport
• Football
• Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta's bitter 'no better team than us' claim after Arsenal's defeat to PSG

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was in a sour mood after his side's Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain following defeat in both legs of the semi-final

[PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 07: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, looks dejected during a post match press conference following his team's defeat and subsequent elimination after the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final Second Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal FC at Parc des Princes on May 07, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Lars Baron - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)]

Mikel Arteta made a bold claim after Arsenal's Champions League exit(Image: Lars Baron - UEFA, UEFA via Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta came out firing in his post-match interview following Arsenal's Champions League semi-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners succumbed to a 2-1 loss to PSG in the Parc des Princes and a 3-1 aggregate defeat, marking another season without a trophy. But Arteta claimed his team had been the best in this year's competition.

PSG took command with goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, though Bukayo Saka's late effort briefly ignited hopes before he agonisingly missed an open goal minutes later. A visibly gutted Arteta struggled to come to terms with their exit when speaking to TNT Sports, "First, congratulations to PSG for reaching the final. The assessment I will make when I am a little cooler," he said.

"When you look at the two games, their best player on the pitch has been the goalkeeper. He has been the difference for them in the tie. We were very close, much closer than the result showed, 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 you need to go your way in the competition, and it didn't. We were very close and for long periods of both games we were much better than them but we are not there and that has to hurt.

[Arsenal's Spanish coach Mikel Arteta reacts during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, on May 7, 2025. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images) ]

Arsenal lost both legs of the semi-final(Image: FRANCK FIFE, AFP via Getty Images)

"If we want to win this competition, we have to realise that. There are certain things that are on us. You shouldn't just be understanding we are out. That is not the way I look at it."

Arteta insisted that his team has shown signs of improvement this season, despite not filling their trophy void. He even claimed that his team had been the best in the Champions League this season, saying: "100 per cent [there has been progression]. 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.

Don't miss a thing with football updates!

"I am so proud of the players. They deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing in the context of the situation and the amount of injuries, probably the worst state you could arrive here as a team.

"To come here with a different context and still do that, it gives me a lot of positives for the future, but tonight I am very upset."

Arsenal are now winless in four games, with crucial Premier League games against Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Southampton still to come. And they could unthinkably lose their second place spot they've occupied all season.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.