Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to channel the heartache of their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain into motivation for future success. The Gunners lost 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Munich, with Gabriel Magalhães sending his spot-kick over the bar to hand PSG a second consecutive European crown.
Kai Havertz had given Arsenal an early lead, but Ousmane Dembélé equalised from the penalty spot in the second half. Arsenal thought they should have had a penalty of their own when Noni Madueke went down under pressure from Nuno Mendes, but German referee Daniel Siebert waved away appeals. Arteta was booked for his protests.
“Pain, that’s it,” said Arteta when asked to sum up his emotions. “When you are so close in the competition, and you are a few penalties away from winning the biggest club competition, that’s the way we should feel.” He added: “First of all you have to go through that pain, digest it, and turn it into fuel. To improve and to reach a different level.”
Declan Rice admitted the defeat was difficult to accept but backed Arsenal to bounce back. “We will try to take some perspective from how far we have come as a group,” the England midfielder said. “Some of the best teams ever have lost on penalties in finals. It’s cruel, but that’s football. This is only the start for us.”
PSG manager Luis Enrique, who has now won the Champions League three times, praised Arsenal’s defensive resilience. “Maybe today both teams deserved to win, but the way we played the whole season, I think we deserve it,” he said. “They are strong physically, they know how to defend and it was very tough.”
