Mikel Arteta has revealed that his Arsenal players were in tears following their Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, despite the manager insisting his side were the better team over the two legs.
Goals from Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave PSG a commanding 3-0 aggregate lead at the Emirates, after David Raya had saved a weak penalty from Vitinha. Bukayo Saka pulled one back but could not find an equaliser, with Gianluigi Donnarumma producing several outstanding saves to deny the Gunners.
Arteta felt the Italian goalkeeper was the major difference between the sides. 'I think so,' he said. 'Especially across 160 minutes. When you analyse both games, who has been the best player, the MVP, has been the same player, the goalkeeper. The Champions League is decided in the boxes and it's won the game for them.'
The defeat means Arsenal's only silverware under Arteta remains the 2020 FA Cup. The Spaniard said the squad's emotional reaction shows their desire to succeed. 'Today I see how much they want it because they were in tears,' he added.
PSG, who have now beaten three Premier League sides en route to the final, will face Internazionale in Munich. Luis Enrique disagreed with Arteta's assessment, stating: 'In the two legs we scored more goals than them and that is the most important thing in football.'
