BUDAPEST, Hungary — Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to be “very ambitious” this summer as he marveled at Paris Saint-Germain’s individual quality following Saturday’s Champions League final defeat in Budapest.
Gabriel Magalhães missed the decisive spot-kick as PSG edged the shootout 4-3 following a 1-1 draw at Puskas Arena in Budapest.
The Gunners may have won their first Premier League title in 22 years but their wait for a maiden Champions League triumph goes on, 20 years after losing their only other final appearance.
“First of all I will take a few days with my family and then we will start the process to review what we’ve done,” Arteta said at his news conference.
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“We [will] start to make some very important decisions if we want to reach another level. And we’re going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it, but it’s going to demand to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.
“I want to congratulate PSG, [coach] Luis [Enrique] in particular, because they are, in my opinion, the best team in the world. What they are able to do with the ball, with individual actions, I haven’t seen it, and it’s not the plan to play in certain areas when you don’t have the ball, but they force you to do that. So, even more credit to the players.”
ESPN has previously reported that Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez is among their list of high-profile targets this summer, although they are set to face strong competition from Barcelona for his signature.
Kai Havertz put the Gunners on course for victory with a sixth-minute strike from a tight angle but Ousmane Dembélé’s 65th-minute penalty — awarded after Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the box — forced extra time.
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PSG dominated the game — amassing 75% possession and registering 21 shots to Arsenal’s seven — but they were unable to find the breakthrough, until both Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missed the target in the shootout.
David Raya saved Nuno Mendes’ penalty but PSG still came through.
“[I feel] pain, that’s it, when you are so close in the competition and you are a few penalty kicks away from winning the biggest football club competition, that’s the way which you feel.
“What I said to the players and the staff is that if I tell them one million times thank you it’s not going to be enough.
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“And it’s not because we won the Premier League and it’s not because we played the cup final, it’s not because we played the Champions League final in the manner that we’ve done, it’s because the joy and the moments that we have lived together every single day and that’s above anything else.”
Arteta and the Arsenal bench reacted furiously when Mendes avoided conceding a penalty for a challenge on Noni Madueke in the 102nd-minute.
“I watch it back and it could easily be a penalty,” Arteta said. “Especially we see the penalties they gave this year in the competition. This season, the referee made a decision, and he made a different one with Cristhian Mosquera and that is an important one.”
