Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was heartbroken after his side crashed out of the Champions League following their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Gunners dreamt of qualifying for the final and winning it despite losing the first leg against the French champions at the Emirates Stadium a week before.
But, even though Arsenal were the better side, PSG won the game in Paris and secured their place in the Champions League final against Inter Milan.
After the defeat and ahead of the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, Arteta made one thing clear to his Arsenal players behind the scenes.
What Mikel Arteta told Arsenal players that some didn’t expect after PSG defeat
Arsenal had plenty of chances to beat PSG in the second leg.
The Gunners could’ve been 3-0 up in the first eight minutes if they had taken their chances, but Gianluigi Donnarumma, who Arteta hailed after the game, pulled off two incredible saves.
The Italian goalkeeper was undoubtedly the man of the match in both legs, and he is the biggest reason why the French champions came out on top.
After such games, it’s normal for managers to have a go at their players for failing to convert their chances, and some in the squad were probably anticipating that.
However, according to the Independent, the Arsenal manager proclaimed something behind the scenes that ‘some of the Arsenal players didn’t quite expect’.
It has been revealed that Arteta told his squad that ‘he has never been more convinced his team is on the brink of glory’ following the defeat in Paris.
The report adds that Arsenal’s coaching staff view this season as a ‘frustrating campaign’ instead of a ‘bad’ one because of everything that has happened.
Why Arsenal feel they lost to PSG
It was really painful to see Arsenal crash out of the Champions League in Paris.
Most fans understand the real reasons why the Gunners lost, and the same is the case within the club as well – with Arteta and his coaching staff.
Arsenal didn’t lose to PSG because they couldn’t lay a glove on them. That happened last season against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
The feeling inside the club is that the defeat this time was ‘mostly down to the missing players – they didn’t even have a striker, and they still got so close’.
Arsenal now know what they need to do – sign the final pieces of the puzzle and make sure they don’t have as many injuries next season as they did this time.
If they can do that, there’s no reason why they can’t go all the way in 2025/26.
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