Arsenal has attempted to keep pace with Liverpool this season, but it wasn’t enough. With four games to spare, the Reds clinched the title last weekend.
This week, Arteta’s attention has been on Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final match against Paris Saint-Germain, where it currently trails 1-0 ahead of next week’s second leg in Paris. However, before a challenging Premier League match against Bournemouth, Arteta addressed Liverpool’s title win during a media briefing on Friday.
“Yeah, big time,” he confessed when asked if losing to Arne Slot’s team was a bitter pill to swallow. “It was in my tummy [that it hurt], yeah. I understand that it’s a team that’s being more consistent, and it has a lot of ingredients that you need to win it, but it’s very painful, yeah.”
Arteta also showed his true colors with a message for Liverpool. He admitted that the right team won the title in the end.
“I take the opportunity as well to congratulate Liverpool and what they’ve done, the management they’ve done, how consistent they’ve been,” Arteta added. “I think they fully deserve to win.
“They were the better team, they had so many attributes, they had a consistent squad available. And we’re going to try again. But up to that moment next season, now we’re going to have to finish the season very strong.”
(Image: Getty Images)
While securing Champions League football is top of the agenda for Arsenal, its place in the top five isn’t set in stone.
A mere 10 point-gap between themselves in second and Villa down in seventh spells out that they need to keep tight control of the reins in the last stretch of the season.
Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures see it take on sides like Bournemouth, followed by high-profile clashes against Liverpool and Newcastle. Then, on the final day, it’s off to St Mary’s Stadium where it will face Southampton, who are already preparing for life in the Championship.
Liverpool faces Chelsea this weekend. It then finishes the season with a home game against Arsenal, a trip to Brighton, and then the final day against Crystal Palace when Virgil van Dijk will lift the Premier League trophy.
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Liverpool.com says: This was meant to be Arsenal’s year in terms of getting over the line but it didn’t happen. Arteta has done a good job but unless he gets a major trophy, his stint won’t be viewed as a success.
Arsenal has a big job on its hands to overturn the PSG game and winning the title next year won’t be easy. The Gunners have come a long way in the last few years but have never quite managed to take the most important step.
The biggest difference to Liverpool is the two attacks. While Arne Slot has lots of firepower to call upon, Arteta is lacking in that department. Having focused so much on defense and set-pieces, though, that is no one’s fault except his own.
