Over the course of 180 minutes in the semi-final, Arsenal netted just one goal—the last-minute strike in the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Nonetheless, Gunners coach Mikel Arteta firmly believes his team performed better overall. “In my estimation, we were the superior team in the Champions League, yet we faced elimination,” the Basque coach stated to TNT Sports.

PSG secured their spot in the final with narrow victories: 1-0 in London and 2-1 in Paris, while Arsenal squandered several significant chances early in the second leg.

“In this match, the more deserving team lost; that’s what the PSG bench communicated to me. Their goalkeeper was the standout performer today,” Arteta continued.

Journalists later grilled PSG’s coach Luis Enrique during a press conference, questioning why he believed Arsenal was the better side.

“I completely disagree. Mikel Arteta is a dear friend of mine, but I do not share his view. While Arsenal played intelligently, we scored more goals over the two legs, which is the key to football. They gave us a tough match, but we earned our place in the final,” Enrique remarked.

In a challenging period for the north London club, Arteta has managed to bring Arsenal back to the upper echelons of both the Premier League and Champions League. However, his tenure, which spans five and a half years, has resulted in just one major trophy—the FA Cup in 2020.

Moreover, Arsenal has struggled to progress past the semi-finals in their last four encounters: the 2020/21 Europa League, and the League Cups in 2022 and 2025, along with this season’s Champions League.

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