Arsenal face the ultimate insult just days after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain. Mikel Arteta revealed that some of his players were in tears as the realisation sunk in that another season will pass by without a trophy.
The Gunners were beaten 3-1 across the two legs of their European semi-final. Arteta has now not won a trophy since his side lifted the FA Cup behind closed doors during the Spaniard’s first season. They will dream of moments like Liverpool had nearly a fortnight ago, when they comfortably wrapped up the Premier League title with four games to spare. Liverpool’s players lapped up the moment with their fans and then partied long into the night. Unlike Arsenal, they have also won multiple domestic cups since Covid.
And Arsenal will now line up either side of the Anfield tunnel on Sunday to give their Liverpool rivals a guard of honour. Roared on by over 60,000 inside the Reds’ Merseyside home, there is probably no bigger punishment just days after Arsenal had their season ended prematurely.
There is a school of thought that suggests this really should have been Arsenal’s season. At the start of the campaign, Liverpool and Chelsea were adjusting to new managers. Manchester City then floundered, opening the opportunity to win the Premier League that Liverpool grasped with both hands. Manchester United and Tottenham were never going to be anywhere near.
Arsenal can blame cruel injuries seemingly always occurring at the wrong time. It is a disadvantage with which Liverpool and Arne Slot never truly contended. But Arteta’s side should have been closer. A poor transfer window, which Arteta’s squad did not leave looking stronger, and drastic losses of form to key players have played their part.
When Liverpool looked certain to win the league, Arsenal pumped all their energy into winning the Champions League. A rejuvenated PSG - reminiscent of the young team with bundles of energy that Arteta has been desperate to build - were stronger over both legs.
“The Champions League is decided in the boxes and it’s won the game for them because obviously today after 20 minutes and what happened in London as well, the result should have been very different. 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,” Arteta said after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat in Paris.
“Today I see how much they want it because they were in tears. This squad, two years ago, nobody believed that we could even probably qualify for the Champions League, not even think that we could finish second and compete in the league. Perhaps the amount of points that we had in any other year, you are champions. But the reality at the end is you need something to lose and that trophy with all the work that we do and the disappointment is we don’t have them.”
This should have been the season Arsenal finally won something. Instead, they clap out Liverpool on Sunday before watching from home as PSG face Inter Milan in the Champions League final later this month.