Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is struggling to digest the defeat to Bournemouth ahead of the crucial Champions League match.
Despite being the underdogs, Bournemouth’s win against Arsenal has left Arteta fuming, and his team shares his frustration. Arteta is now determined to channel that anger into the upcoming Champions League semi-final against PSG.
Arsenal will play the second leg of the semi-final in Paris on Wednesday, trailing 1-0 after losing the first leg at home. To reach the final, they must win the return leg.
The defeat to Bournemouth came just days before the important PSG match. Arsenal lost 2-1 at home in a Premier League match on Saturday.
Declan Rice gave Arsenal the lead in the 34th minute of his 100th match for the club, and they held onto the lead until halftime. However, they lost their way in the second half, conceding two goals within 8 minutes. The goals for Bournemouth were scored by Dean Houseen (67th minute) and Evannilson (75th minute).
Arsenal had hoped to go to Paris with confidence after winning, but that plan was shattered. After the match, Arteta expressed his disappointment.
“What we wanted to achieve on Wednesday, a positive result, would have really helped us in that direction,” he said. “But now we’ve created a lot of anger, frustration, and a bad feeling.”
“We have to make sure that we use this anger to put in a great performance on Wednesday in Paris, win the match, and reach the final.”
In the league, Arsenal are second with 67 points from 35 matches, with 18 wins and 13 draws. Manchester City are third with 64 points. Liverpool, who have already secured the title, have 82 points from 34 matches.
While the league title race is over, the fight for a Champions League spot next season is still ongoing. Despite being in a good position, the loss to Bournemouth has made Arsenal’s path to qualification more difficult.
Arteta remains focused and aware of the work still to be done, saying, “Mathematically, we haven’t qualified for next season’s Champions League. We haven’t secured second place yet, so there is still a lot to do.”
