Mikel Arteta has demanded a reaction from his Arsenal team when they face Paris Saint-Germain off the back of a frustrating defeat to Bournemouth.
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Arsenal beaten by Bournemouth Arteta left feeling 'rage, anger, frustration'Expects response in PSG return legFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Following Bournemouth's 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta admitted it was exactly the opposite of what Arsenal had wanted in preparation for facing the French side in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg. The Gunners must now take the taste of defeat into a game they have to win to have any chance of prevailing – they need a two-goal margin in Paris to prevail over 90 minutes, without extra-time.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Premier League title race is over and Arsenal are highly unlikely to tumble all the way out of the top five, so the Champions League is understandably more of a priority, not least because the Gunners have never won it. But a big boost going into the second leg would have been momentum from a positive result against Bournmeouth, which they didn't achieve. It means Arteta has to look for other ways to motivate his team.
WHAT MIKEL ARTETA SAID
Arteta said to : "On whether the side have lost momentum before facing PSG: "It didn't create the right momentum. It created a lot of anger, frustration, rage, disappointment. Let's use all of that on Wednesday. That's what we have to do."
He added in his post-match press conference: "We certainly wanted to create a really good vibe, a positive result would really help us to build what we wanted towards Wednesday. So what we have created now is a lot of rage, anger, frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy. So make sure that we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game and be in the final."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
Wednesday night in Paris has the potential to define not just Arsenal's season but their history. Every other major Premier League club has won the Champions League at least once, with the Gunners coming agonisingly close in 2006 but never again since. If this season ends trophyless, it could also even see cracks in the Arteta era start to form.