Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has admitted that it is painful to miss out on the Premier League title for the third consecutive season while congratulating Liverpool for emerging champions.
The Gunners have finished second in the last two seasons to Manchester City, and they are also behind Liverpool this season to extend their Premier League title drought.
Arsenal have won just one out of their last four matches in the Premier League as they shift attention to the Champions League.
Arteta congratulated Liverpool for winning their 20th Premier League title.
He said: “I understand that (Liverpool) is a team that is being more consistent and they have a lot of ingredients that you need to win it, but it’s very painful.
“We have so much to play for still in the two competitions, Premier League and Champions League.”
Arteta also confirmed that Kai Havertz will be available for selection before the end of the season.
Havertz has been out injured since February following a hamstring surgery while Jorginho sustained a hip injury in April.
Arteta said: “If everything goes the way it’s going at the moment and the way it’s planned, I think Havertz will have a chance to play a few games here in the season.
“Jorginho is still out. Jorginho’s got a bit more complicated than expected. Thankfully, he’s fine, he’s feeling good, he’s recovering well.”
The Gunners will take on Bournemouth on Saturday evening, and Arteta has reserved praises for Andoni Iraola’s side.
He concluded: “I imagine, I think in the Premier League every club that is in this position, they have the opportunity to do it. Now they have the consistency in the league, they have very, very good players. When you look at the players and the set-up that they have, it’s really impressive.
“In terms of intensity and how they approach every duel, in the way of playing they are a bit different to PSG. They want to achieve things that are very similar in certain ways so it’s not about practicing them, it’s just to be very efficient and very good at what we have to do against them in order to play the way that we want.”
The Gunners have a 1-0 deficit in their Champions League semi-final tie against PSG, and they will travel to Paris after the clash against Bournemouth.
