After a painful penalty shootout defeat in the final of the Champions League, Mikel Arteta spoke about his pride for his players after a memorable campaign.
We were crowned champions of England for the first time in 22 years earlier this month, and reached our first Champions League final since 2006, but the season ended in heartbreak as Paris Saint-Germain beat us in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in Budapest.
At the end of the game, Arteta said he felt for the team, who had gone through so much this season: “But now, I think it's pain,” he said. “We have to feel it, we need to go through that. And at some point, we're going to have to try to turn that feeling into fuel to improve and reach another level.
“I know the circumstances that we've done it and everything that has happened inside the team to achieve what we want.
“If I said one million times thank you [to his players], it's not going to be enough. And not because what we've done by winning the Premier League after so long, or reaching a cup final, or to play in the manner we've done in the Champions League final and be so close to winning it, it's because of the moments that we have lived together every single day. And I think the connection in the team is something that we have felt between each other.”
The final got off to the perfect start when Kai Havertz fired home at the near post after just six minutes, before the Parisians struck back with a penalty in the second half – though it was a game of few clearcut chances.
“We started the game so well,” the boss added. “We scored early and then again had moments, moments that were a bit different to the ones that we wanted to expect. I think that's big credit to PSG and the level and the quality they have to force you to play in those situations. And then not much happened, they didn't have any clear chance apart from two times that we gave the ball away.
“There's another big decision on Noni, on the penalty that is not given. And when you go to the penalties, anything can happen. Unfortunately, we weren't good enough to put the game away and win the Champions League.”
But the defeat won’t take away from what the team has achieved this season, and the players will celebrate our Premier League title in the streets of Islington tomorrow at our victory parade. The manager said: “The supporters deserve to be close to the team and give them the opportunity to express how they feel about each of the players and what the team has done. Now it's difficult to think about that, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.”
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