Mikel Arteta makes PSG red card claim after Arsenal's Champions League heartbreak

Arsenal manager believes Achraf Hakimi shouldn't have been on the pitch to score against his team in the on Wednesday. defender Hakimi scored his team's second goal in a 2-1 win at the Parc des Princes which saw them .

Arteta, however, believed Hakimi should have missed the game through suspension. The Moroccan international was already on a yellow card when he fouled Gabriel Martinelli in the closing stages of , but avoided a second booking.

"Against us, Hakimi who for sure shouldn't have been in the game in the last 10 minutes of the first leg so he shouldn't have played at all in the second leg and score. There are a lot of random things in football," Arteta said.

An early goal in North London allowed to take a narrow lead back to France, and they extended it when Fabian Ruiz scored a deflected first-half goal. Hakimi's goal made it 3-0 on aggregate, with a late effort not enough for the Gunners.

Arteta was pleased with how his team have played in Europe this season, but recognised that wasn't enough this term. "It is not about the winning probability, it's about making it happen and making it count," he said. "When you look at the most important stat I normally give you, the best platform to win football matches is crystal clear - who was better."

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PSG boss Luis Enrique has emphasised the importance of being able to play a Champions League final in front of the fans - something which wasn't possible during the behind-closed-doors 2020 edition. "This will be our first Champions League final with our fans; without them, it's not really a final," he told reporters ahead of this weekend's Ligue 1 game against Montpellier.

"If there's one team that deserves to win it purely for how long they've waited for it, it's Paris Saint-Germain. I know that the club was founded in the year in which I was born. Let's hope that that connection turns out to be real and that we can win the Champions League!"

Up next for is a match against champions . Victory at Anfield will ensure Arteta's team qualify for next season's Champions League, thanks to two of the chasing pack - fifth place and sixth place - playing each other on the final day.

When asked how he will lift his team for the final three league games, Arteta delivered a blunt response. "This is where we are," he said.

"When you get so close to winning big trophies and you don't achieve it, it has to be part of the journey. You have to be able to immediately go into another competition and perform at the highest level - that's it."

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