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Devastated Arteta vows to prove himself worthy as Arsenal manager

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Mikel Arteta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Europa Villareal



Following a devastating elimination from the Europa League last night, Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta has vowed that he is the right man to lift the club from the dust.

The Gunners were dumped by Villareal, managed by their former coach, Unai Emery, after failing to register a single goal in the second leg at the Emirates on Thursday night following a 2-1 defeat in Spain last week.

According to Sky Sports, the defeat meant that Arsenal are going trophyless this season and with Arteta’s team ninth on the Premier League table, they could miss out on European football next season for the first time in 25 years.

Quizzed by reporters on his ability to lead the players from the dust after last night’s elimination, the Spaniard gave a positive response to suggest he’s the best man for the job.

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“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.”

“We are devastated, but we have to congratulate Villarreal, they’re in the final. We tried everything right up until the last minute, I think over two legs and what happened today, in the second half, I think we deserved to win the game.

“But the details, they decide these ties and we had opportunities to score. We hit the post twice, we had three big chances, they didn’t have anything, but they are through.

“[In the first half] We were very imprecise with the ball. The process at the back, it wasn’t clean and then everything is much more difficult. We were probably a bit tense as well and when we changed a few things, we got better.

“In the second half, we were much more dominant and created chances, more than them, over the two ties but not enough to win it.

“We are hugely disappointed because we wanted to deliver something special to them [the fans] after the difficult season we had.

“But when you are playing these knockout games, you need your best players at their best to make things happen and we did not have enough of those in the best possible condition.

“For me, it’s very important that in the defining moments, you have everybody available, at their best and so many things happened to us and so many players just trying to be able to compete, but not at their best and that’s a big disadvantage.

“We had so much enthusiasm and desire to be in that final. We know how much it meant to the club and our fans, to ourselves to be in that final, win a title and be in the Champions League next season. It’s a huge blow.”



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