Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, has challenged his squad to channel their frustration over Liverpool’s Premier League triumph into motivation for next season’s title chase.
The Gunners face the uncomfortable prospect of forming a guard of honour for newly crowned champions Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, a reminder of their failure to end the club’s two-decade wait for a league title.
Arsenal’s hopes of securing major silverware this season were dashed earlier this week when they were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite creating early chances in the second leg, they were undone by the brilliance of PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in a 2-1 defeat.
With Arsenal trailing Liverpool by a considerable margin and set to finish second once again, Arteta admitted that his side have regressed in the league compared to previous campaigns.
“In the Premier League, we’ve taken a step backwards. The points total shows that clearly,” he said.
However, the Spaniard urged his players to turn that pain into motivation as they begin planning for next season.
“Pain can be a powerful driver. If you want to achieve something, the frustration of not getting there can push you to the next level,” Arteta said.
Praising Arne Slot’s Liverpool side for their consistency and quality, he added, “They’ve been the best team. They deserve it, and in sport, if someone does better than you, you accept it and try to match that standard.”
Arteta came under fire for recently claiming Arsenal had been the best team in this season’s Champions League, despite their exit at the semi-final stage.
But he stood by his comments, citing key performance metrics. “If you look at the stats, the goal difference, the impact — it’s very clear. We were the best.”
Arsenal’s failure to sign a proven striker in January has been highlighted as a key factor in their title challenge falling short. The team was also hampered by injuries to key attacking players like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Kai Havertz.
“Back in January, I was clear — I want the best squad. If we can bring in three players who score over 25 goals a season, we’ll be a stronger side. That hasn’t changed,” Arteta said.
Despite the season’s setbacks, he believes the club is not far from success.
“With the points we’ve gathered over the past few years, we could have won two titles. We’re close. We just need to make sure no other team performs better next time.”
