“Wednesday Was One Of The Saddest But Proudest Nights,” Arteta Confesses, Reflects On Arsenal’s Champions League Campaign
Mikel Arteta admits he is taking little comfort from Arsenal’s run to the Champions League semi-finals—their first appearance at that stage in 16 years.
Despite a historic campaign that saw his side eliminate 15-time champions Real Madrid and reach the last four for only the third time in the club’s history, the Gunners manager insists it still falls short of expectations.
As the 2024/25 season nears its conclusion, Arsenal face the looming reality of a sixth straight campaign without a major trophy. Their likely third Premier League runners-up finish in that span, coupled with this European run, has reinforced the growing sentiment that Arsenal are “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal’s trip to face newly-crowned league champions Liverpool, Arteta reflected on the frustrations of falling short once again. The Gunners will have to deliver a guard of honour at Anfield—an experience the manager acknowledges will be particularly tough.
While Arsenal’s European campaign showed signs of promise, Arteta’s comments underline that near-success is no longer the benchmark for a club desperate to end its silverware drought.
“We wanted to win the Champions League, and we believed we could,” he said. “That’s the spirit. If someone says ‘Oh, but we have this,’ I don’t want anybody talking about it.
“Wednesday was one of the saddest but proudest nights I have had as Arsenal manager. I want to talk about one, why we didn’t win it, and what we have to do now to win it. That’s what has to drive this club, and everybody involved in it.
“A lot of things have to go your way. What we did was increase the probability, and made that very high that we would reach the final. But we missed too many big chances. We can give credit to them, they had the best goalkeeper in the world saving those moments.
“I understand the narrative [about signing a No 9]. When you create five expected goals but only score one, it’s going to happen. It’s normal.
“We look at the things with much more data and resources than many people, but a lot of people have very good intuition on what is needed – and it’s good to listen to those opinions.
“We have a very clear vision from the ownership, the owner and the board, the new sporting director, we are all aligned on what we want to do. We are very close to achieving it – and that’s it.
“Some days it will be sunny, then the storm will come. You have to go through every single day, lift your head up, make sure that you’re doing your very best in a very honest way and you’re fully believing what you can do. Then it will come.
