Champions League: Arteta Admits He Hasn't Gotten Over Final Defeat

Arteta desperate for Champions League glory

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reveals he hasn't recovered from Champions League final defeat to PSG as Gunners prepare to face favourites Bayern Munich away.

“I want it so badly” says Arteta desperate for Champions League glory...

Mikel Arteta says last season's agonising Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain is driving Arsenal on this term, admitting he has been unable to shake off the heartbreak.

The Gunners face Bayern Munich on Wednesday in a clash between two of the tournament favourites.

Arteta's men struck first against reigning champions PSG in May's final in Budapest, but were pegged back by a second-half equaliser before suffering defeat on penalties.

“I've tried, but I haven't managed,” Arteta told reporters on Tuesday when asked if he had gotten over the loss.

“That's the reality. So I tried for many weeks during the summer, but even today, and when I see the ball, when I (hear) the music, when I see the scenes, I want it so badly.

“We know that we have to go step by step, but I think that's fired up the team, and all of us individually, because we know that because of a penalty, we are not the champions of Europe.

“So, yeah, let's try again.”

The Premier League leaders have won 10 of their 11 matches in all competitions this season and now take on a depleted Bayern side.

Already missing the suspended Michael Olise and the injured Jamal Musiala, Bayern head into the game with further doubts over unwell head coach Vincent Kompany, captain Manuel Neuer and midfielder Joshua Kimmich.

Arteta said he hopes to see Kompany in the opposition dugout, insisting Arsenal want to test themselves against the best possible Bayern side in order to keep improving in Europe's elite competition.

“You want to face the best players in these kinds of games and duke it out with the best in the world.

“First of all, as a team, you see how incredibly well coached they are, the mindset that they have, the conviction that they have in their reaction and then in real quality moments that they can produce throughout the games, when we look at the goals and chances that they generate.“

Bayern striker Harry Kane, who spent a decade locked in rivalry with Arsenal while at Tottenham, arrives in red-hot form and is among the frontrunners for the Ballon d'Or, set to be awarded in late October in London.

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Arteta described Kane as “something else, on another level,” but insisted he has full faith in his defence to handle the England skipper.

“They get tested a lot in the Premier League, and they've already done it in the Champions League.”

Over land and sea. https://t.co/lSlUa2W3Ev

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 20, 2026