Arteta warns of a long road to glory
A dejected Mikel Arteta addressed the future of Arsenal’s Champions League aspirations after their quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich.
Following a valiant effort that ended in a 3-2 aggregate loss (after a 2-2 draw in the first leg), Arteta warned fans that it might be a long road ahead. He cautioned that it could take “years” before Arsenal are ready to claim their first Champions League title.
Speaking after the loss in his post-match interview, according to reports from Daily Mail, Arteta said, ”The players are gutted in the dressing room. I cannot find the right words to lift them, I wish I could. We have to go through it.
‘’We tried against a team that had a lot of experience, the margins across the tie have been very small. We made a mistake defending the box and we conceded a goal.
‘‘The club hasn’t been in the Champions League for seven years, and in the first year back [people expect us to] play in the semi-final and final.
‘‘We all wanted that, so badly, but you can see with many other clubs it takes six or seven years to get to this stage. We were very close, that’s the reality.’’
Double elimination for England: Another blow to UEFA ranking
Arsenal were not the only English team to get knocked out of the competiton yesterday. Sports Buddy recently reported that both Arsenal and Manchester City were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, weakening England’s position in the UEFA coefficient ranking system.
