LUIS ENRIQUE has denied that he and his Paris Saint-Germain coaching staff claimed that Arsenal were the better team across both legs of the Champions League semi-final.
PSG clinched a 2-1 win over the Gunners on Wednesday to book a place in the Champions League final.
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Having won the first leg 1-0 last week, the Ligue 1 champions had the upper hand going into the match.
A first-half goal from Fabian Ruiz extended the overall advantage at the Parc des Princes.
Achraf Hakimi then made it 3-0 on aggregate in the 72nd minute.
Bukayo Saka got one back for the Gunners in the closing stages, but it was too little too late to perform a comeback.
Despite losing the tie, Mikel Arteta claimed that Arsenal were the better team overall.
He even suggested that members of PSG’s coaching staff thought the same.
Asked if he believed the best team lost the match, Arteta said: “I think so, yes. Especially for 160 minutes.
“I’m saying that and they’re saying that because they [PSG’s bench] just told me that.”
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The manager also told TNT Sports: “The assessment I’ll make when I’m a little bit cooler but the feeling I get from their bench was that we were much better than them.
“Over the two legs the best player on the pitch was their goalkeeper, he’s made a difference in the tie. We were very close much closer than the results showed but unfortunately we are out. I’m so proud.
“How we started and handled the pressure – after 20 minutes we should be 3-0 up. But there is something extra in this competition to go your way and it didn’t.”]
However, PSG manager Enrique was quick to deny the claims during his post-match press conference.
He said: “I don’t agree at all. Mikel Arteta is a great friend but I don’t agree at all.
“I think they played in a clever way today and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they wanted and they loved to play.
“But I think in the two legs we scored more goals than them and in football that is the most important thing.”
Arsenal next face Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday.
They need three points to fully guarantee a place in the Champions League for next season.
Arsenal ratings v PSG
ARSENAL’S Champions League dream ended in tears as they failed to revolt against Paris Saint-Germain in Paris.
The Gunners came flying out of the blocks and tested Gianluigi Donnarumma early, but it seemed it was going to be one of those nights from the get go. And so it proved.
Despite early pressure, Arsenal found themselves behind following a Fabian Ruiz volley.
Achraf Hakimi then added a brutal second mere moments after David Raya had kept Arsenal in the tie by denying Vitinha from the penalty spot.
But Bukayo Saka, who had been denied all night by old nemesis Donnarumma, finally bested the Italian in the 76th minute when he made the most of a deflected cross to round him and fire into the net.
With the deficit on the night halved, Saka then had the chance to level the score as he was found free in the middle with an open goal at his mercy.
But the winger was unable to keep the ball down once he made contact and saw his effort sail miles over the bar.
PSG then saw out the result without further worry to book their spot in the Munich final against Inter Milan.
Here’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated the Gunners in Paris.