The PSG manager says his side deserved to go through to the Champions League final after Arsenal boss said his team had been the best in the competition
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Updated 07:13, 08 May 2025
Mikel Arteta at the Parc des Princes
Mikel Arteta says the best team lost after PSG beat his Arsenal team in the Champions League semi-final
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Even amongst the Arsenal-leaning journalists in the room, it was a claim that raised eyebrows, to say the least. Mikel Arteta suggested the best team had lost the semi-final tie between the Gunners and PSG - won 3-1 on aggregate by the French champions - and that there had not been a better side in the competition than his Arsenal.
“Delusional twaddle,” declared Piers Morgan on X. Luis Enrique was a lot more diplomatic but, nevertheless, was certainly not prepared to agree with Arteta.
The PSG boss said: “I don’t agree at all. Mikel Arteta is a great friend but I don’t agree at all. I think they played in a clever way and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they want and love to play.
“But I think in the two legs, we scored more goals than them and, in football, that is the most important thing. I have to say, Arsenal played a great match and we suffered a lot.
"I think it’s a match where we suffered the most. I think we deserved to get to the finals.
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"They are a great team as well but I repeat, we scored more goals and we played in a great way in the first leg and in the second half in the second leg. It was a different match and we could score even more goals.”
Enrique did not argue with Arteta’s claim that Gianluigi Donnarumma was the best player in both legs but asked: "How are you going to win a Champions League without a great goalkeeper? Today, Gigi was phenomenal, as he was in every qualifying round, like against Liverpool.”
The victory over Arsenal means that PSG have beaten the Gunners, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa en route to a Champions League final showdown with Inter in Munich on May 31. And Enrique could not resist a light-hearted pop at English critics who disparage the quality of Ligue 1.
Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta
Luis Enrique did not agree with his 'great friend' Mikel Arteta that the best team lost in Paris
Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrates
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made another string of top-class saves against the Gunners
He smiled: “The league of farmers, no? We are the league of farmers. But it's nice. We are enjoying the result and the compliments of everybody speaking of our team -- our mentality, how we play. It's nice.”
After goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi had extended PSG’s two-leg advantage to 3-0, Bukayo Saka pulled one back but it was too little too late. Yet Arteta still claimed: “I don’t think there has been a better team in the competition … but we are out.”
But PSG midfielder Joao Neves was one of many to disagree, saying: “Arsenal are a very strong team with lots of individual quality. But I think we were the better team.”
Bukayo SAKA of Arsenal dejected during the UEFA Champions League 2024/2025, semifinal match between Paris and Arsenal at Parc des Princes on May 7, 2025 in Paris, France
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope but was amongst those to miss good chances for the Gunners
After losing three of their first five league phase games, PSG looked in serious danger of leaving the competition. But a dramatic 4-2 win over Pep Guardiola’s City in January turned their campaign around.
Enrique said: “The turning point could have been the match against Manchester City in which we were losing 0-2. But in the group stage statistics, we were among the best in Europe. We are fair finalists.
"It means a lot. Everybody was dreaming of getting to a Champions League final and our first goal when we arrived in Paris was to make history and we are on the right path."
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