Arsenal fired by Champions League near miss, insists Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a press conference at the Allianz Arena.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits the lingering pain of last season’s Champions League final defeat is fuelling his desire for European glory and rejected suggestions his team are “boring”.

The Premier League champions face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening in their biggest test since losing to Paris St Germain on penalties in May.

Asked if he had moved on from the agonising shoot-out loss to PSG, Arteta said: “I tried, but I haven’t managed to.

“I tried for many weeks during the summer, but when I see the ball, the scenes, I hear the music, I want it so badly.

“We know that we have to go step by step, but I think that fire is within the team and all of us individually.

“We know what we had to go through – not being champions of Europe by a penalty. So, let’s try again.” Arsenal have won 10 of 11 games in all competitions this season but have faced scrutiny over their style of play.

Arteta remains unconcerned by suggestions his side are not entertaining.

“No it doesn’t,” he replied when asked if the criticism irritated him.

“People have their own opinions. We have our own opinion.

“At the end of the day, we have lost one game in 11 this season and if you call that boring or irritating, I don’t know what to say.

“We enjoy playing football. We enjoy going out there every single day to win football matches and that’s the most important thing.” 

Arsenal have progressed from the Champions League quarter-finals to the semi-finals and then the final in successive campaigns as they continue their pursuit of European football’s biggest prize.

The Gunners beat Bayern 3-1 in last season’s league phase after losing to the Bundesliga champions over two legs in the quarter-finals in 2024.

“I’m really looking forward to the game,” said Arteta.

“This is the stage, this is the kind of team, this is the kind of coach, this is the kind of club, the stadium that you want to be involved in.

“We have prepared the game with loads of enthusiasm. I’m really thrilled to come here and play tomorrow.” 

Arteta could have unfamiliar company on the touchline as Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany may miss the match through illness. Kompany’s assistant Aaron Danks is poised to deputise.

“Well, I hope that he gets soon better,” Arteta said of Kompany.

“I hope that he’s there tomorrow because it will be very good for the game that his presence is there.

“(I’m) a huge admirer of him: one, as a person, because I got to know him and I worked with him for a few years (at Manchester City), and then what he has done as a coach.

“I think the identity and the quality that his team shows in the last few years, it’s another level, and that’s a big credit for him.”