Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged fans to ‘see the season they had’ after the Gunners failed to secure a historic double in brutal fashion.
The newly crowned Premier League champions failed to achieve final football immortality in Budapest as PSG beat them on penalties to win the Champions League.
Having already banished their home demons by securing a first Premier League title in 22 years, the Gunners were looking to complete a legendary double.
But despite taking the lead on the hour with Kai Havertz’s fine finish, Gabriel’s penalty miss proved successful.
Although the pain of the final defeat will take a long time to heal, the Arsenal manager was quick to urge everyone associated with the club to look at the bigger picture.
Arteta’s side have broken through the roof this season, reaching Europe’s showpiece event for the first time since 2006, and the Spaniard insists the club’s impressive journey must be recognized despite the pain involved.
He told TNT Sports: “We haven’t done it in 20 years [reached the Champions League final]so think about the second time in our history that we’ve done it, and we need to see the season we had, but right now nobody’s going to take the pain away from you.”
Luis Enrique’s star-studded French champions defended their European crown with a clinical display under intense pressure, with Arteta providing a superb test for the victors.
Instead of succumbing to defeat, the Gunners boss challenged his young squad to absorb the bitter taste of failure in Hungary and use it as fuel to fuel their ambition for the upcoming campaigns.
He added: “They are a very good team and I congratulate them, the level of each individual they have, the way they are trained, they are a top, top team.
“You have to go through the emotions and if you’re in pain, then go through the pain.
“Think you can do something else, then learn from it. Reflect on that and show the desire to have it again.”
Although the Champions League trophy has not yet returned to the Emirates, the relationship between this Arsenal team and their manager has never been stronger.
Reflecting on the season that produced the historic Premier League title under immense pressure, Arteta expressed his pride in the way his players represented the club at the biggest stage of all.
“I’m proud of them, this season we had it under the circumstances. Inside, we know what we went through,” he said.
“It is an honor to manage this group of players and this team in the way they manage this badge and how much money they put into it. [Premier League] and he was missed the most.”
