Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah has made a mockery of Mikel Arteta’s assertion that his Arsenal team was the best team in the Champions League this season – despite their demise at the last-four stage of the tournament.
The Gunners advanced further than any English side in Europe’s premier cup competition this season, having defeated Real Madrid in the quarter-finals to book their semi-final place. However, the North London outfit fell to a 3-1 aggregate loss against Paris Saint-Germain to end their dreams of reaching the showpiece in Munich.
The French champions earned a crucial 1-0 win at the Emirates in the first leg, before sealing the victory with a 2-1 win at Parc des Princes this week. Despite falling short over these two legs against Luis Enrique’s team, Arsenal boss Arteta remained convinced of his side’s merits as the best team in Europe.
His divisive assertion came in the wake of the defeat in the French capital, which sealed their fate and saw them dumped out of the competition. Having witnessed Liverpool secure the Premier League title in recent weeks, this loss compounded a forgettable season for Arsenal.
However, Arteta was loath to casting a critical eye over the Gunners‘ shortcomings this term, as he remained resolute in his belief in relation to his team’s standing in the European stakes. Speaking after elimination, he said: “We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately we are out.
“I am very proud of the players, 100% I don’t think there’s been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out. This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and theirs was the best in both games.”
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In a controversial remark before the game, Arteta also appeared to claim that his team has been unfortunate to have not won the Premier League in the last few seasons. He said: “Winning trophies is about being in the right moment in the right place.
“Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons. With the points of the past two season we have two Premier League [titles].”
Now, Liverpool forward Salah has given his verdict on the team that eliminated both the Reds and the Gunners from the Champions League this term. Speaking about losing to the French giants ealrier in the competion, he told L’Equipe: “I have to be honest. PSG had a very good first leg. We were so lucky. Alisson had the best game of his career at Liverpool. They were very unlucky.
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“Then they came to Anfield and we were the ones who were unlucky because we hit the post two or three times, they saved balls on their line once or twice. So we were unlucky, too.
He continued: “In this match, everything was 50/50. Who deserved to qualify more? No one could say. We had a very good second leg, they had a very good first leg. And you lose on penalties… sometimes it’s your day. Sometimes it’s mine. It was their day.
“No one would say, ‘They deserved it 100 per cent!’ No. The first leg, yes. The second, no. It’s the same for us. The second leg, yes. The first, no. It was their day and I shook the players’ hands afterward, I said to them: ‘Congratulations, go win it!’ and that was it.”
Calling PSG the best side in Europe on current form, in contrast to Arteta’s assertions, Salah added: “We were in great form all season, and in March alone, we had a bit of a slump. And we are playing the best team in Europe at that time. They had a rise in form and we reached the same point.”
