ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta delivered a sobering reality check after his side crashed out of the Champions League last night.
The Gunners fell 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Germany courtesy of Joshua Kimmich’s bullet header.
The result, coupled with last week’s 2-2 draw in North London, saw Arsenal fall at the quarter-final stage.
Arteta, 42, subsequently admitted that he could not lift his players’ spirits in the dressing room.
The Spaniard then went on to add that it could be a long time before they are able to go all the way in the Champions League.
He said: “The players are gutted in the dressing room. I cannot find the right words to lift them, I wish I could. We have to go through it.
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“We tried against a team that had a lot of experience, the margins across the tie have been very small. We made a mistake defending the box and we conceded a goal.
“The club hasn’t been in the Champions League for seven years, and in the first year back [we are expected to] play in the semi-final and final.
“We all wanted that, so badly, but you can see with many other clubs it takes six or seven years to get to this stage. We were very close, that’s the reality.”
Arsenal’s attention will now turn fully towards the Premier League.
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The Gunners fell two points behind champions Manchester City last weekend after losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa.
Their supporters were subsequently blasted by the likes of Rio Ferdinand after the Emirates emptied in the closing stages.
Arsenal will continue their quest for Prem glory by travelling to Wolves on Saturday night.
Arteta continued: “It’s not going to go away (the pain) certainly tonight, but I can guarantee you by tomorrow we’re fully focused on Wolves and everybody is lifted.
“What we still have to play for is beautiful. I said before it’s time to be next to these players.
“It’s easy to be behind them and praise the players and talk nice things when we win 10 in a row and one draw.
“The moment is now to be behind them and be next to them.”
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel believes that Arsenal are not far away from mixing it with Europe’s big boys.
He said: “They (Arsenal) are there. For me, they are an elite team. It was a very, very close result.
“Maybe what they miss a little bit is a bit more experience in these knockout stages.
“I would not judge them now on this week where some of the results are a bit complicated, but in my opinion they are an elite team.”
Thrilled former Tottenham striker Harry Kane told TNT Sports: “(It was) an unbelievable win. It’s been a tough season for us.
“We’ve had to fight and grind it out at times. We knew we could make the difference with our fans at home.
“It was a tough game, a tight game. It was a great goal from Josh. To reach the semi-finals is a great achievement for us and we can enjoy it.
The expectation here is to try and win the Champions League
Harry Kane
“I think in these types of games the first half is always a bit cagey. We said at half-time we wanted to up the tempo, be aggressive.
“We had a couple off the post and could have made it easier for ourselves but these games are always tough and you just have to get through them.
“The expectation here is to try and win the Champions League.
“We won the league for 11 years in a row so maybe there was a bit of tempo missing.
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“That can’t happen. Now we have to enjoy the Champions League and try to get ready for Saturday.”
Bayern will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals, after the Spanish league leaders knocked Manchester City out on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Etihad.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
