……Arsenal 2-1 Everton
LONDON-(MaraviPost)-Mikel Arteta, in his heart of hearts, may have known Arsenal’s title race was run before this match. As Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, he knows as well as anyone just how ruthless Manchester City can be.
It was certainly over when City raced into an early lead against West Ham, on a day when they had to not win for Arsenal to have a shot at a first league title in 20 years.
So by the post-match interviews at Emirates Stadium, Arteta and his players had time to come to terms with second place – and to draw positives from an impressive campaign.
- Arsenal finished on 89 points, their second most in a Premier League campaign. Only the 90 earned by the legendary Invincibles side of 2003-04 can surpass this Gunners team.
So while acknowledging they had come up just short, captain Martin Odegaard was keen to accentuate the positives.
“I think we’re all a little bit disappointed,” he said, speaking to fans on the Emirates Stadium pitch after the final whistle.
“We’ve been fighting so long for the big dream. We were so close. I’m so proud of the boys, so proud of the team, the fans. I’m so proud of the progress we are making.
“We’ve changed the club and I think you all believe in us now.”
Source: BBC Sport