Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta urged fans to ‘recognise the season they have had’ after the Gunners fell short of an historic double in cruel fashion.
The newly-crowned Premier League champions fell short of achieving ultimate footballing immortality in Budapest as PSG beat them on penalties to win the Champions League.
Having already banished their domestic demons by securing a first Premier League title in 22 years, the Gunners were looking to complete a legendary double.
But despite leading for an hour through Kai Havertz’s fine early finish, Gabriel’s penalty miss proved decisive.
While the pain of a final defeat will take a long time to heal, the Arsenal manager was quick to urge everyone associated with the club to look at the bigger picture.
Arteta’s side have shattered ceilings this season, reaching Europe’s showpiece event for the first time since 2006, and the Spaniard insists the club’s incredible journey must be recognised despite the immediate agony.
He told TNT Sports: “We haven’t done it for 20 years [reached the Champions League final], so imagine the second time in our history that we have done it, and we need to recognise the season we had, but at the moment nobody is going to take the pain away from you.”
Luis Enrique’s star-studded French champions defended their European crown with a clinical display under the utmost pressure, and Arteta offered a classy assessment of the victors.
Rather than wallowing in defeat, the Gunners boss challenged his young squad to absorb the bitter taste of failure in Hungary and use it as fuel to drive their ambition for the upcoming campaigns.
He added: “They are a superb team and I congratulate them. Individual quality they have, the manner they are coached, they are a top, top team.
“You have to go through the emotions and if you’re in pain, then go through the pain.
“Think you could do something else, then learn from it. Reflect on that and show the ambition that we want to have again.”
While the Champions League trophy won’t be returning to the Emirates just yet, the bond between this Arsenal squad and their manager has never been stronger.
Reflecting on a season that yielded a historic Premier League title under immense pressure, Arteta expressed his immense pride in how his players represented the club on the grandest stage of all.
“I am so proud of them, with this season we have had under the circumstances. Internally, we know what we have been through,” he said.
“It is just a privilege to manage this group of players and this team the way they carry this badge and how much they put into it. We got a big one [Premier League] and missed out on the biggest one.”
