Arsenal players’ reactions that broke Mikel Arteta’s heart after PSG defeat

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Mikel Arteta has shared the emotional impact Arsenal ‘s Champions League semi-final exit had on his players, revealing that they were in tears after being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal faced an uphill battle after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, and despite a valiant effort, they were unable to complete a historic comeback, losing 2-1 in the second leg at Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. Goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi put PSG in control, while Bukayo Saka’s goal late in the game offered Arsenal a glimmer of hope.

Arteta, speaking after the match, expressed how deeply his players cared about the outcome, revealing that the emotional toll was evident as they struggled to come to terms with the defeat. “Today, I see how much they want it because they were in tears,” Arteta said. “The way I describe it is the way I spoke to them, and which is the way I feel it. Yes, I feel proud. Yes, probably nobody expected it. Yes, probably in the condition that we are, it’s very unlikely to happen, but it was there to happen again, and we made it very, very close to happening.”

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Despite the defeat, Arteta was proud of the team’s performance, particularly given the difficult circumstances. He also believed that Arsenal were the better team on the night, despite PSG’s victory. Arteta claimed that even the PSG bench agreed with him, but he credited Gianluigi Donnarumma’s remarkable saves for keeping the Parisians ahead.

“First of all, congratulations [to PSG] for being in the final,” Arteta said. “Talking about merits, I think we deserve much more. When you analyse both games, who has been the best player? The MVP has been the same player, the goalkeeper. And 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.”

The defeat marks another near-miss for Arsenal under Arteta, who has now seen his team lose four semi-finals, without winning any of the eight legs in those ties. However, the Spaniard remains optimistic and is determined not to let these setbacks define the team’s future.

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“We have to arrive in the competition at this stage with the full squad, fully available, in the best condition,” Arteta added. “We haven’t got that, so let’s put that aside. Still, the team that I’ve seen today against PSG 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.”

Arteta emphasized that his players must not be scarred by this defeat, noting that fear should not hold them back from reaching the highest levels of football. He referenced PSG captain Marquinhos, who has endured multiple defeats in his career, yet continues to strive for success in the Champions League.

“With fear, you cannot play football at the highest level,” Arteta said. “We had the best example in the [PSG] dressing room – Marquinhos, 11 times he’s tried in this club as a winner. 11 times he’s the captain. 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. But you have to deal with that.”

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