Mikel Arteta Says His Players Will Have To Earn The Right To Finish 2nd, Warns That UCL Qualification Isn’t Confirmed Yet

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has revealed that he wanted his team to carry a positive momentum into Wednesday’s UCL semifinal clash vs Paris Saint-Germain in Paris.

Instead, the Gunners suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth, putting their 2nd-place EPL finish in danger.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Arteta said that he wants his players to channel their rage and anger from Saturday’s defeat into conquering PSG in Paris to guarantee their spot in the UCL final.

According to him, his players are feeling angry and frustrated after another painful loss at home, and they desperately wanted a victory leading up to the season-defining clash in France.

“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 [we must] make sure that we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game and be in the final,” he said.

Addressing Timber’s absence in the squad for Saturday’s game, Mikel was not enthusiastic about the Dutchman’s chance of featuring in the second leg.

Arteta disclosed that he is not confident that Timber can feature vs PSG because he wasn’t fit enough to play vs Bournemouth, and the UCL game is in four days.

“Confident? At the moment, no, because he wasn’t able to play here and we play in four days,” he said.

On the trip to Anfield next week Sunday just before hosting Newcastle United the following weekend in two difficult EPL games, the Spanish manager confirmed that they’ll be tough mountains to climb, especially because they’re 2 teams in good form right now.

Arteta believes that his players will have to earn the right to finish 2nd in the league, warning that they’re not even mathematically confirmed to qualify for next season’s UCL yet.

“Mathematically we are not qualified [for next season’s Champions League]. We haven’t earned the right to finish second yet, so we still have a lot to do,” he added.