Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, believes that even though they lost to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League semi-final, Arsenal was the best team in the whole competition this year. Arsenal needed to win their second game against PSG after losing the first one 1-0 at home. They wanted to go to the final to play against Inter Milan. Even though Arsenal had some good chances to score, they could not get the ball past the PSG goalkeeper Donnarumma until Bukayo Saka scored near the end. Before that, PSG scored twice through Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, making the score 2-1 in the second game and 3-1 overall, meaning PSG won.
"We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately, we are out," said Arteta.
"I am very proud of the players, 100%. 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."
Having failed to reach a first Champions League final since 2006, the Arsenal boss revealed his players were in tears in the dressing room after the loss, and he was "upset and so annoyed" they did not find a way to turn around the tie.
Asked whether he agreed with Arteta, PSG boss Luis Enrique said his own side deserved to reach the final.
"Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don't agree at all," he added.
"They played in a clever way and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they wanted, and the way they love. But in the two legs we scored more than them and that is the most important thing in football.
"Arsenal played a great match, and we suffered, but we deserved to get to the final. They are a great team, but I repeat, we scored more goals, we played in a great way in the first leg, and the second half of the second leg was a different match, and we could have scored even more goals."
The Gunners began superbly and, after Declan Rice headed wide from close range, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard forced Donnarumma into fine saves.
Saka also forced the PSG keeper into another excellent stop in the second half and missed another clear chance at 2-1 down as Arsenal finished the match with an expected goal ratio of 3.14.
"When you analyse both games, who has been the best player? The MVP has been the same player, the goalkeeper," added Arteta.
"And the Champions League is decided in the boxes, and it's won the game for them because obviously, after 20 minutes, and what happened in London as well, the result should have been very different.
"So I can take a lot of positives, and I'm very proud of the team. We have to arrive at the competition at this stage with the full squad, fully available, in the best condition. We haven't got that, so let's put that aside.
"Still, the team that I've seen today is probably one of the best, if not the best team in Europe.
"It gives me so much pride, but at the same time I'm so upset, so annoyed that we didn't manage to do it. I see how much they wanted it, because they were in tears. It hurts, but you have to deal with that."
The defeat meant Arsenal would end the season without winning a trophy for the fifth season in a row, after Arteta led them to an FA Cup triumph in 2020 during his first season in charge.
They have also finished second in the Premier League for the last two seasons and the Spaniard was asked whether his players will struggle to get motivated to try again after another disappointment.
"With fear you cannot play football at the highest level. We had the best example in the [PSG] dressing room - Marquinhos, 11 times he's tried in this club to be a winner, 11 times he's the captain," said Arteta.
"So that's the truth and let's see if they win it. So 11 times they have to go down and up.
"So look in the mirror at somebody like this with that trajectory, and you want to be in the sport, and you want to be competing and be very close to all the trophies. You better be able to deal with that."
