Following Arsenal’s elimination from the Champions League by Bayern Munich, Mikel Arteta believes he needs to give his teammates “support and love”.
Bayern defeated their opponent 1-0 on the night and won their quarterfinal 3-2 overall thanks to a header from Joshua Kimmich in the second half in Germany.
It was Arsenal’s second straight loss after they were defeated 2-0 by Aston Villa last Sunday, which caused them to lose the Premier League title fight.
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Arteta acknowledged that his team lacked experience at this point in the campaign, but Arsenal was still aiming for their first Champions League semi-final position since 2009. They hadn’t made it to the quarterfinals since 2010.
“We haven’t played this competition for seven years and we haven’t been in this stage for 14 years,” he stated. “There’s a cause behind it.
“We aim to do everything in a single season, quite quickly. Because the margins are so close, I believe we have the ability and quality to be in the semifinals.
“Those margins are derived from another source that we may not yet possess. It is something we must acquire.
“If you look back in history, other clubs needed seven, eight, or ten years to accomplish this. That won’t cheer us up today, that much is certain.”
The Gunners will face Wolves in their return to Premier title action on Saturday. If they are to win the title for the first time since 2003–04, they must cause City to lose points.
“What I need to do is stand right next to them and give them support and our love and we have to pick it up because on Saturday we have a big, big game,” Arteta added.
“We continue to compete for the Premier League. We truly want to play in the Premier League, which is there. We now need to demonstrate our ability to turn things around.”
“I wish I knew exactly what to say to the players to cheer them up. Being around the players is what I and the entire coaching staff will do. stated Arteta.
“I feel so grateful to be the coach and to work with them every single day.
