Mikel Arteta: Arsenal boss says Liverpool’s ‘deserved’ Premier League title triumph hurts ‘big time’ – ‘It's been painful’
By Jonny Bray
Published 02/05/2025 at 17:17 GMT+1
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Arsenal look set to record their third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League after Liverpool wrapped up the title race with a victory over Tottenham last weekend. The Gunners are still in the UEFA Champions League, but manager Mikel Arteta admits that missing out on the Premier League title has hurt him a lot. Arsenal will face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
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Mikel Arteta admits that missing out on the Premier League title has hurt him "big time" ahead of Arsenal's clash with Bournemouth.
The Gunners look set to record a third straight second-place finish in the table after Liverpool wrapped up the title with a 5-1 win over Tottenham last weekend.
Arteta's side will welcome Bournemouth to Emirates Stadium on Saturday, but with one eye on the second leg of their UEFA Champions League clash with PSG on Wednesday - live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - which they currently trail 1-0 on aggregate.
The Spaniard insists that missing out on the Premier League title has been a huge blow, despite their strong showing in Europe thus far.
"Yes, [it hurts] big time," he told reporters on Friday. "I understand that it's a team who have been more consistent, they've had the ingredients to win it and it's been painful.
"I want to congratulate Liverpool and what they've done, the manner they've done it and how consistent they've been, and I think they fully deserved to win it."
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Video credit: TNT Sports
He continued: "They've been the better team, had the better attributes, had their squad available consistently and we are going to try again.
"They've had this distraction [with Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold's contracts], but they still had them on the pitch the whole time, which is positive.
"They are a club who over the last 10 years have been fighting for trophies, winning big trophies like the Champions League. They are deserved champions."
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Arteta's side have suffered an injury-hit season with star names like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz among those missing large parts of the campaign.
The Spaniard admitted he has been rocked by how many key members of the starting eleven have been sidelined for several months.
"I was very shocked before the game against PSG because I walked into the dressing room and suddenly I saw all of them together seated," he added.
"It was Takehiro Tomiyasu and next to him was Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Jorginho.
"I said, 'That's a starting line-up' and we haven't had them for many months."
Watch and stream the Premier League and UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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