Mikel Arteta has reaffirmed his belief that Arsenal were the best team in the Champions League this season, despite their semi-final exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

Following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium last week, the Gunners travelled to Paris knowing only a victory in the second leg would keep their European dreams alive.

Arsenal came close in the early stages, with Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Ødegaard both narrowly missing within the first 11 minutes. However, PSG strengthened their grip on a place in the final when Fabian Ruiz made it 2-0 on aggregate.

Achraf Hakimi effectively ended the tie not long after, and although Bukayo Saka provided a late glimmer of hope, it wasn’t enough for the Gunners, who have now gone five years without a trophy.

Despite the defeat, Arteta stood by his assertion that his side had been the best team throughout the competition, saying: "I don't think there's been a better team in the competition, from what I've seen," he told TNT Sports.

"But we are out. We deserved much more, but this competition is about the boxes – the strikers, most of the time, and the goalkeeper, and theirs was the best player in both games."

"I’m so proud of the boys; they deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve done and the amount of injuries we’ve had to deal with. We arrived here in the worst state possible. You need to get here with everyone fit and available, with lots of minutes under their belts. They had a week to prepare, while we came here with a completely different context. That gives me a lot of positivity for the future."

During the post-match press conference, Arteta was asked to clarify his earlier comments and whether he thought the best team had lost in the tie. He responded: "I think so, yeah. Especially across 160 minutes. I’m saying that, and they are saying that because they just told me that."

When asked if the PSG bench had told him this, Arteta confirmed: "Yes."