Mikel Arteta has claimed his Arsenal team have been the best in the Champions League this season, despite suffering elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain this evening.
The Gunners travelled to Paris trailing 1-0 from the first leg, and were beaten again in Paris tonight, going down 2-1 at the Parc des Princes, missing out on the chance to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Arsenal have had a strong campaign on the continent, beginning with finishing third in the new league phase throughout the autumn and winter.
Arteta's men then thrashed PSV Eindhoven 9-3 on aggregate in the last 16, before stunning the holders Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, winning both legs of their tie.
That has led to a high praise from the manager for his side's performance in the competition this season, despite falling short of reaching its showpiece event.
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The best team in Europe?
Speaking to TNT Sports post-match, Arteta claimed that they have been the best team in the competition this season in his opinion.
"I don't think there has been a better team in the competition so far, from what I have seen," Arteta professed.
"We deserved much more in both games [vs. PSG], but in this competition it is about the boxes, and in the boxes there are strikers and a goalkeeper, and he [Gianluigi Donnarumma] was their best player, in both games."
Donnarumma made eight saves across the two legs, expertly keeping Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli at bay in the first leg at the Emirates.
The Italian stopper was at it again in Paris, keeping out Martinelli once more, as well as captain Martin Odegaard early on to maintain their slender advantage, before Fabian Ruiz's opener.
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Arteta heaps praise on his squad, bemoans bad luck
The Gunners' boss was keen to hammer home the point that their journey to the semi-finals has not been an easy one, due to the hectic schedule they have been through with a depleted squad.
Midfielder Mikel Merino started as a striker once again in Paris, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus both out for the season, and important defender Gabriel Magalhaes has also been absent for the last few weeks.
"I'm so proud of the boys, they deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing, in the context, in the situation, and with the amount of injuries we have, we arrive here in the worst state that you can arrive in as a team." Arteta stressed.
"You have to get here with everybody fit, available, with a lot of minutes, with rest, like they [PSG] had a week, we come here in a complete different context, and still do that, it gives me a lot of positivity for the future, but tonight I am very upset."
It will be a fifth consecutive season without a trophy for Arteta and Arsenal, so a big summer looms as they look to close the gap in the Premier League and in the Champions League next season.
Andrew Delaney
