On a night when Arsenal couldn’t do enough, there were more of those moments when Mikel Arteta doesn’t help himself.
Paris Saint-Germain had beaten Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate, to only extend the feeling that they are Europe’s most exciting – and probably best – side. Despite that, Arteta came out with the following.
“I don’t think there’s been a better team in the competition”, before saying that was “especially across 160 minutes” of the semi-final. That was on top of the curious pre-game comments where Arteta had said Liverpool had won the Premier League with fewer points than his own team had managed in the previous two seasons. A glance at points-per-game records reveals this to be nonsense.
It didn’t go down brilliantly with Liverpool, and it is one reason why Arteta has not exactly been one of the Premier League’s more popular managers. Staff at some clubs openly dislike him, and you can’t but notice a certain public glee at Arsenal’s disappointment. At least part of that is down to the manager.
It wasn’t a glee shared on the PSG bench, however. Some of their staff told Arteta they thought Arsenal were excellent. Luis Enrique said the same, even if he wouldn’t go as far as agreeing they were the better team.
Arteta went on to claim that Gianluigi Donnarumma was “the difference”.
“When you analyse both games, who has been the best player? The MVP has been the same player, the goalkeeper.”
No one is likely to give his words credence after a tie in which Arsenal lost by two clear goals, amid a league season where they have dropped from 2.34 points per game to 1.9.
There is a perception among some that Arteta is in denial, even delusional.
At the very least, PSG always looked like they had more to give in the tie, that their attackers could go to another level.
And yet that is precisely why Arteta’s staff would insist his comments are valid.
While PSG had such a wealth of options that a rampant Ousmane Dembele was left on the bench, Arsenal had a number-eight playing as a stand-in centre-forward. Despite that, the Gunners’ xG was far superior – 3.14 to 1.74 on the night, 5.11 to 3.08 for the tie – and they felt they created at least seven high-quality chances.
Arsenal, not for the first time this season, were missing that edge.
“To win a competition, you need that,” Arteta added.
Injuries have sapped Arsenal of attacking intensity, but there is a fair debate to be had about Arteta’s response. In seeking to compensate for his team not being able to attack in the same way, there might have been an excess of caution and an over-reliance on set-pieces.
There were quips by viewers of the game about the reliance on Thomas Partey’s long throws. Tony Pulis’s old Stoke City team greatly enjoyed it, as illustrated by some of Glenn Whelan’s social media comments.
Those within Arsenal would argue that this was essential to mitigate the effects of their injuries. They did score 89 goals in 38 games with a high-pressing approach last season but if you try and play the same way without the same players, you will collapse. There are no clearer examples than Manchester City last autumn and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool over 2020-21 and 2022-23. The latter went from 2.42 points per game to 1.76, and didn’t even make the Champions League.
In other words, you have to look for alternative options. Arsenal would argue that the cautious approach is not by choice. Without it, the effect of these injuries would be much worse.
That's also why Arteta says some of the eyebrow-raising things he says. They are messages to his players, so as to fortify belief and not give excuses. A certain "delusion" is almost necessary.
"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 happen," Arteta said. "So just finding those reasons, but actually didn't. Instead of the things that we don't have, with the things that we have, we can actually do more to help them."
For Arteta’s part, too, some in football might not like him but the vast majority respect him as a coach. Enrique made that abundantly clear as he said “it was the match we suffered the most”. “They are a great team.”
And for all the derision towards Arteta’s comments, there is that extra context.
He has restored Arsenal to being a serious side, one that competes at the highest level. It is something many people thought beyond the club when he took over.
In football, sometimes, the closer you get to the summit the more the criticism grows.
Many will point to the huge expenditure but, on the last published accounts, Arsenal had only the fifth-highest wage bill in the Premier League. They were £80m behind Manchester City and £58m behind Liverpool. People may scoff but the fact is there is a 90 per cent correlation between wage bill and league finish. It is the financial metric that matters most because it reflects the going rate and a club’s ability to match it. Arteta’s staff would similarly point to how it took both City and PSG billions before they got to their first Champions League finals.
Some of the financial differences are admittedly influenced by Arteta’s indecision over a forward, which has been a recurring issue at the club for two seasons now. It has to be rectified, but is at least something explainable and solvable.
Arsenal are clearly close. They maybe weren’t quite as close as Arteta made out here. That isn’t necessarily something to be laughed at, though.
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