Mikel Arteta opens up on 'gutted' Arsenal dressing room after Bayern Munich loss - 'Can't find right words to lift them'
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ByOli Gent
Updated 18/04/2024 at 08:56 GMT
Mikel Arteta has said that the Arsenal dressing room is "gutted" after their 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich confirmed the Gunners' exit at the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League. Joshua Kimmich's bullet header was enough to send the German side through after a 2-2 stalemate at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg. Arsenal's focus returns to the Premier League, where they face Wolves.
MUNICH, GERMANY - APRIL 17: Head coach Mikel Arteta of Arsenal FC looks down after the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match between FC Bayern München and Arsenal FC at Allianz Arena on April 17, 2024 in Munich, Germany.
Image credit: Getty Images
Mikel Arteta could not hide his disappointment after his Arsenal side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League 1-0 by Bayern Munich in their quarter-final second leg.
Joshua Kimmich’s bullet diving header was the difference after the sides had cancelled each other out at the Emirates, 2-2 in the first leg.
The Gunners, playing in Europe’s top competition for the first time in seven years, fall at the last eight hurdle, and to familiar foes, with Bayern beating them in the last 16 in 2013, 2014, and 2016.
The German side are the north Londoners’ bogey team in the Champions League, and they also dismantled Arsenal 5-1 in the group stages in 2015.
Now, after another defeat at the hands of the Rekordmeister, Arteta spoke of the “gutted” atmosphere in the visiting dressing room.
“It’s a really gutted dressing room; very disappointed,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
“I cannot find the right words to lift them; I wish I had them. We had to go through it. We tried against a team that had a lot of experience and through the tie the margins have been very small.
"We gave them two goals and that’s a big advantage to give away. Today you could see that there was no margin of error.
“We made a mistake defending the box - a big one - and we conceded a goal. Then we tried in many different ways, but it’s difficult. This is the moment to stick with the players, give them support and stick to them because they are the ones that have taken us on this journey.
“It had to be a mistake or a magic moment that unlocks this tie. I think we could have won it, I think we were better than them and we had a lot of moments of dominance, but those moments of spark are what you need in these ties to get through.
“The club has been playing without the Champions League for seven years. They wanted to be in the semi-finals and the final - we wanted that - so badly, but you can see in many other clubs that it sometimes takes six or seven years to get to that stage but we are very close and that’s the reality.
“What we have to play is beautiful; we have six games to go and we are two points behind City. A very difficult schedule for everybody. We had to go through the pain tonight. Tomorrow, get up and come with the same attitude that we had here and beat Wolves.”
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