Mikel Arteta comments reveal Arsenal delusion and why other clubs dislike them | OneFootball

On a night when Arsenal couldn’t do enough, there were more of those moments when Mikel Arteta doesn’t help himself.

Paris Saint-Germain had beaten Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate, to only extend this feeling that they are Europe’s most exciting - and probably best - side. Despite that, Arteta came out with the following.

“I don’t think there’s been a better team in the competition”, before saying that was “especially across 160 minutes” of the semi-final. That was on top of the curious pre-game comments where Arteta had said Liverpool had won Premier League with fewer points than his own team had managed in the previous two seasons. A mere glance at points-per-game records illustrated this to be nonsense.

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Arteta’s side are still close to glory despite a difficult season (Getty Images)

It didn’t go down brilliantly within Liverpool, and it is one reason why Arteta has not exactly been one of the Premier League’s more popular managers. Staff at some clubs openly dislike him, and you can’t but notice a certain public glee at Arsenal’s disappointment. At least part of that is down to the manager.

It wasn’t a glee shared on the PSG bench, however. Some of their staff told Arteta they thought Arsenal were excellent. Luis Enrique said the same, even if he wouldn’t go as far as agreeing they were the better team.

Arteta did go as far as saying Gianluigi Donnarumma was “the difference”.

“When you analyse both games, who has been the best player? The MVP has been the same player, the goalkeeper.”

One of the issues with statements like that is that no one wants to really give it credence after a tie where you were beaten by two clear goals, amid a league season where you have dropped from 2.34 points per game to 1.9.

There’s a perception of being in denial, or even delusion. It has certainly played into some opinions about Arteta.

At the very least, PSG always looked like they had more to give, that their attackers could go to another level.

And yet that is precisely why Arteta’s staff would insist there is actually credence in what he has said.

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Arsenal’s players were upset and emotional after defeat in Paris (Getty Images)

While PSG had such a wealth of options that a rampant Ousmane Dembele was left on the bench, Arsenal had a number-eight playing as a stand-in centre-forward. Despite that, their xG was far superior - 3.14 to 1.74 on the night, 5.11 to 3.08 for the tie - and they felt they created at least seven high-quality chances. Even with some of their lower-quality chances, then, Donnarumma made fine saves.

Arsenal, not for the first time this season, were missing that edge.

“To win a competition, you need that,” Arteta added.

Where there might be more measured criticism is in whether this is connected to some of the season’s wider issues. Injuries have sapped Arsenal of so much attacking intensity, but there is a fair debate to be had about Arteta’s response. In seeking to compensate for his team not being able to attack in the same way, there might have been too much compromise in terms of excessive caution and an over-reliance on set-pieces.

There were many quips within the game about the reliance on Thomas Partey’s long throws. Tony Pulis’ old Stoke City team greatly enjoyed it, as illustrated by some of Glenn Whelan’s social media comments.

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PSG looked the best team in the Champions League based on their run to the final (Getty Images)

Those within Arsenal would argue that this was essential to mitigate the very effects of those injuries. They did score 89 goals in 38 games from a high-pressing approach last season but if you try and play the same way without the same players, you will collapse. There are no clearer examples than Manchester City in autumn and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool over 2020-21 and 2022-23. The latter went from 2.42 points per game to 1.76, and didn’t even make the Champions League.

In other words, you have to look at other options. The strident argument is that a perceived caution is not by choice. Otherwise, the effect of these injuries would be much worse.

That's also why he says some of the eyebrow-raising things he says. They are messages to his players, so as to fortify belief and not give excuses. A certain "delusion" is almost necessary.

"Probably in the condition that we are, it's very unlikely to happen but it was there to happen again and we made it very, very close to happen," Arteta said. "So just finding those reasons, but actually didn't. Instead of the things that we don't have, with the things that we have, we can actually do more to help them."

For Arteta’s part, too, some people in football might not like him but the vast majority do greatly respect him as a coach. Enrique made that abundantly clear as he said “it was the match we suffered the most”. “They are a great team.”

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Enrique praised Arsenal’s performance in the semi-final tie (Getty Images)

And for all the derision towards many of Arteta’s comments, there is that extra context.

He has restored Arsenal to being a serious side, that competes at this kind of level. That is something many people thought beyond the club when he took over, and they were a basketcase.

It’s sometimes remarkable in football how you get more criticism the closer you get to the summit.

Many will point to the huge expenditure but, on the last published accounts, Arsenal only had the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League. They were £80m behind Manchester City and £58m behind Liverpool. People may scoff at mere mention of that but the fact of the matter is that there is a 90 per cent correlation between wage bill and league finish. It is the financial metric that matters most because it reflects the going rate and a club’s ability to match it. Arteta’s staff would similarly point to how it took both City and PSG billions before they got to their first Champions League finals.

Some of the financial differences are admittedly influenced by Arteta’s indecision over a forward, which has now been the club’s recurring issue for two seasons. That has to be rectified, but it is at least something explainable and solvable.

Arsenal are clearly close. They maybe weren’t quite as close as Arteta made out here. That isn’t necessarily something to be laughed at, though.