Mikel Arteta has aimed a subtle dig at Manchester United as the Spanish manager reflected on his fifth season in a row with Arsenal without a trophy.
Arsenal secured Champions League qualification next year with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United at the Emirates yesterday. But the Gunners remain 12 points off leaders Liverpool who were confirmed as Premier League champions last month.
A third consecutive second place finish in the league beckons for the club ahead of the final round of matches this weekend.
Arsenal were also dumped out of the Champions League in the semi-final by Paris Saint-Germain and in the same stage of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United.
Their exit in the FA Cup came at the hands of United with Ruben Amorim’s side winning on penalties at the Emirates after spending most of the game with ten man, after Diogo Dalot was dismissed in the first half.
And in an interview after the win against Newcastle, Arteta aimed a pointed dig at the Red Devils in order to praise his own players for their consistency in competing for multiple trophies at once. A remarkably consistent ability to come up second best one in each one.
“We’re very disappointed because we wanted to be here with the Premier League or the Champions League and it’s not the case”, the 43-year-old coach revealed.
“Chasing a dream has its ups and downs, but we need to recognise what we’ve done – I’ve seen other teams with one or two injuries finish fifth, eighth, sixteenth, seventeenth.”
United are currently languished in 16th in the Premier League after a dismal domestic season at Old Trafford, while Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur are 17th. It is clear who Arteta is referring to with this comment.
However, a season-defining clash with (ironically) Spurs on Wednesday night in the Europa League final offers both clubs the chance to salvage success by winning a trophy and gaining entry into next season’s Champions League.
Arteta concluded on another season as England’s ‘nearly man’, “What this team has done, in my own opinion, to sustain the level throughout the season with everything that has happened, is incredible.”
Imagine how the Spaniard would eulogise his side if they secured European football at the same time as winning a trophy? His Lego head would likely explode.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
