Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has defended himself after the Gunners failed to reach the Europa League final as they miss out of European football next season.
The Premier League club were eliminated in the semifinal of the competition by Spanish side Villarreal on Thursday night after failing to overturn the 2-1 first leg deficit.
The Gunners needed to score at least a goal to secure their passage to their second consecutive final but they crashed out after losing 2-1 on aggregate.
Mikel Arteta’s men kicked off the game like they meant serious business with their captain Pierre-Emerich Aubameyang hitting the post but it was just a flash in the pan.
When asked if he was the right man to pick his players up, Arteta said via Sky Sports:
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I couldn’t. You will see it. It’s not about talking, it’s about showing it on the pitch.
“I feel the pressure all the time because I want to do as good as I can for the team, for every support that I have here and for the fans. Today is a big disappointment because we tried everything to be in that final.
“I think everybody’s job is under scrutiny.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United have booked a place in this season’s Europa League final after seeing off AS Roma in a two-legged semi-final fixture.
United were looking to make amends to their performance from last season when they were bundled out of the competition in the semis by Sevilla.
And they took a huge step towards progressing to the last round of the tournament following their 6-2 win over the Italian giants in the first leg, but lost 3-2 in the reverse fixture to progress 8-5 on aggregates.
