Mikel Arteta’s attempts to replicate Virgil van Dijk’s rousing speech to Liverpool clearly didn’t work quite how he’d hoped, with Arsenal now facing an uphill task to reach the Champions League final.
Having had to watch on as the Reds secured the Premier League title – and a 20th league crown in total to go level with Manchester United again – the Gunners looked to take another step toward a first Champions League title as it faced Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of its semi-final at the Emirates Stadium.
They’ll have their work cut out for them if they’re to succeed where Liverpool and Aston Villa failed, with Arsenal needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Paris next week after defeat in North London.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on another Premier League title this season, Arteta was in a buoyant mood as he looked ahead to perhaps his biggest game in charge of the Gunners.
“I tell them [the supporters], and I’m not exaggerating here: ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your T-shirts and let’s play every ball together,’” Arteta urged the club’s supporters ahead of the first leg.
“We want to do something special. The place has to be something special, something that we haven’t seen. I really hope that everybody that comes to the Emirates and is watching and following us, brings that energy with them.
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“You feel it [the lack of a Champions League title]. We have, fortunately, a lot of people that have worked in the club for many, many years and they’ve never been in this position [to win it]. So that tells you how unique and beautiful it is.
“We need to earn the right to be in that final and everything is going to start tomorrow. So yeah, we are making history. It’s a beautiful story right now but we want much more. We have to take the opportunity and make it happen.”
Arteta’s message echoed Van Dijk somewhat after the Liverpool captain called for supporters to come to the remaining games decked out in red. But while Van Dijk’s call to arms had the desired effect against Tottenham, Arteta’s attempts didn’t quite work out.
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The atmosphere at the Emirates was almost immediately deflated when Ousmane Dembele struck less than four minutes into the tie, and unlike Liverpool against their North London rivals, the Gunners couldn’t get themselves back into the game.
In fact, Arteta and his supporters cut largely frustrated figures as they were left incensed by some of the decisions against their side, with their Champions League dream now hanging by a thread.
And at one point during the second half, Arteta could be seen desperately trying to reinvigorate the crowd as the game looked to be slowly slipping away from his side, with Gianluigi Donnarumma proving an immovable force in the PSG net.
Arsenal now will have to do what Liverpool did and win in Paris to give itself a chance of reaching the final in Munich. If not, the Gunners will once again have no silverware to show for their efforts this season.
