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Mikel Arteta has blamed Arsenal’s lack of “spark” as they bowed out of the Champions League following a second leg quarter-final defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich.
The Gunners miss out on a chance to earn European success as Bayern secure their place in the semi-final with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Joshua Kimmich’s headed winner.
Arteta’s side headed to Germany with everything to play for after drawing in the first leg, but were unable to capitalise on the lessons they had learned from playing Bayern at the Emirates.
The boss went on to admit Arsenal’s squad were devastated in the dressing room, having seen their European hopes come to an abrupt end.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Arteta said: “That spark around the box is what you need in these ties to get the victory.
“A mistake from them or a magic moment, that is what unlocks the tie. We didn’t manage to win it at the end and we could have won. At moments we were better than them and had a lot of moments of dominance.”
He continued: “At the moment it’s a gutted dressing room, very disappointed. I cannot find the right words to leave them, I wish I had.
“We have to go through it. We tried against a team with a lot of experience. Through the tie the margins have been very small. There were moments that we were better, we gave them two goals – that is a big advantage to give away.
“You could see that it was a zero margin of error, we made a mistake defensively in the box, big one, and we gave away the goal.
“Now is the moment to stick with the players, because they need our support. They are the ones that have taken us on this journey.”
Arsenal will now set their sights on Premier League success, and return to league action on Saturday when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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