'The best team lost....' - Mikel Arteta asserts UCL final won't feature the best team of the season

Ligue One Champions Paris Saint-Germain crushed the hopes of Arsenal to win their maiden UEFA Champions League title this season. PSG got the better of Arsenal 3-1 in the second leg of the UCL semifinals. 

The Gunners were left heartbroken after the defeat at Parc Des Princes. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta even made a shocking claim in the post-match interview.

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Mikel Arteta feels the better team didn't qualify for finals 

Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal 2-1 at their home ground and 3-1 on aggregate. In the second leg, Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi scored for PSG, while Bukayo Saka was the sole scorer for Arsenal. The Ligue One champions proved their superiority by winning both legs in the semifinals. Arsenal will go trophy-less in the 2024-25 season, having already lost all the domestic competitions and the league.

“The best team lost, in my view… especially after 160 minutes. I’m saying that and they [PSG bench] are saying that because they just told me”. Arteta said.

Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta, holds a different opinion. According to Mikel Arteta, Arsenal were the better squad across the two legs and deserved to qualify for the finals. Arteta was proud of the performance his team put in despite missing many starting eleven players due to injuries.

PSG's manager, Luis Enrique, had a different opinion. He was respectful in his approach to tackle Arteta's comments.

“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all. They played in a clever way, and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they wanted, and the way they love. But in the two legs we scored more than they did and that is the most important thing in football. Arsenal played a great match, and we suffered, but we deserved to get to the final." Enrique said.