MIKEL ARTETA will watch his Arsenal players give Liverpool a guard of honour on Sunday with a strange sense of injustice.
After being knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to confirm their fifth season in a row without a trophy, the Spaniard has started talking nonsense as the mounting pressure begins to affect him.
Arteta claims the Gunners have been the best team in Europe this season — and very few observers agree with him.
Tottenham famously came third in a two-horse race when Leicester won the title 2016.
Yet Arteta’s team could end up doing the same, finishing behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
After the 2-1 semi-final defeat in Paris, he claimed: “I don’t think there’s been a better team in the competition so far.”
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Despite a slow start to the competition’s group stages which saw them finish 15th, Luis Enrique’s PSG have flourished.
They had already knocked out Liverpool and Aston Villa before dumping Arsenal.
Arteta claimed members of the PSG bench reckoned Arsenal were the better team over two legs but opposing boss Enrique dismissed that.
Even stranger were Arteta’s comments before the second leg — words which could haunt him if Arsenal lose at Anfield on Sunday and fall 18 points behind the champions.
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Asked if he felt pressure to win something, Arteta said: “Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons.
“But with the points of the last two seasons, we have two Premier Leagues, so you have to be in the right moment in the right place.”
Liverpool do indeed have 82 points, compared to Arsenal’s total of 89 for last season and 84 the year before.
But Arteta is forgetting Arne Slot’s team still have THREE games to play.
The Reds could end up with a total of 91 points, beating both Arsenal’s previous tallies. Right now, the Spaniard is in danger of becoming The Deluded One.
Arteta has to accept that his club has gone backwards after two poor transfer windows.
For the first ten minutes in Paris, they were outstanding — but were missing a No 9.
Arsenal ratings v PSG
ARSENAL’S Champions League dream ended in tears as they failed to revolt against Paris Saint-Germain in Paris.
The Gunners came flying out of the blocks and tested Gianluigi Donnarumma early, but it seemed it was going to be one of those nights from the get go. And so it proved.
Despite early pressure, Arsenal found themselves behind following a Fabian Ruiz volley.
Achraf Hakimi then added a brutal second mere moments after David Raya had kept Arsenal in the tie by denying Vitinha from the penalty spot.
But Bukayo Saka, who had been denied all night by old nemesis Donnarumma, finally bested the Italian in the 76th minute when he made the most of a deflected cross to round him and fire into the net.
With the deficit on the night halved, Saka then had the chance to level the score as he was found free in the middle with an open goal at his mercy.
But the winger was unable to keep the ball down once he made contact and saw his effort sail miles over the bar.
PSG then saw out the result without further worry to book their spot in the Munich final against Inter Milan.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated the Gunners in Paris.
Bukayo Saka scored one and missed a key chance. Since returning after three months on the sidelines, Arsenal had won four and drawn three — but have now lost three in a row.
Equally, Saka is one of only two of this current team which would get into the Arsenal side which reached their last European final in 2006, when they lost to Barcelona in Paris.
That golden team featured Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Cesc Fabregas, while Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie were on the bench.
In a combined XI, only Saka and Jurrien Timber would come in for Alex Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue.
So it is vital Arteta gets his recruitment right this summer.
They need to get a top-class striker — but signing either RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko or Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres will not be simple.
Arsenal will also look to bring in a new left winger, while Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is certain to arrive and will boost the midfield.
The board will once again spend big, so the expectations of Arteta will be even greater.
He has already spent £700million, so that amount after the summer could hit £850m.
Arteta will not want to be remembered as the man who was given the ammunition to build a great side but moulded one which fired blanks and only won one FA Cup.
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Time is no longer on the manager’s side.
He needs to oversee a huge improvement — because if he is not careful, next season could be his last.
