Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal faced off this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes in the return semi-finals of the Champions League 2024-2025 (final on May 31). The match ended in a 2-1 Parisian victory, 3-1 on aggregate (PSG/Arsenal video highlights). After the match, England coach Mikel Arteta spoke at a press conference. He expressed his regrets, but also encouraged PSG’s performance against Inter Milan.
Arteta “I hope PSG will finally get it right.”
“Congratulations to them, because they qualified. But we were better than them. They had the man of the match in both legs, and it was the same every time: their goalkeeper (Gianluigi Donnarumma). That’s the story of what happened in both matches.
I’m proud of my players and what we did. We played with a lot of character and confidence. The result wasn’t what we’d hoped for, and we can’t be satisfied with that. We were better but unlucky, even with seven injured players.
I sincerely hope PSG win the final in Munich. Because of my past here (he played in Paris in 2001-2002), I hope PSG will finally do it. It’s not yet time to say ‘Allez Paris’, but I’ll be behind them when the final arrives.”
We know that these comments will provoke criticism. It’s not illogical to consider that PSG were better, since they won. It’s a cold fact, with more goals scored. That’s the main thing. There were also some real qualities.
But it’s understandable that Arteta is satisfied with the content of his team’s play. There’s no particular reason to criticize them here, let alone in front of the press. Frustration is also logical. The Spanish coach’s argument is a little less so, given that UEFA voted Achraf Hakimi (26-year-old right-back) player of the match. But that’s just a detail.
His support for Paris in the run-up to the final is particularly noteworthy, given that he played for PSG during the 2001-2002 season. Which should influence his choice for the final, of course. Even if it’s a long way off for him.
