MIKEL Arteta admitted Arsenal paid the price for making one big mistake as Bayern Munich’s 1-0 victory sent his side crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Joshua Kimmich’s second half header punished slack marking by Arsenal and ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2009.
The Gunners were beaten 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final after a 2-2 draw in the first leg in north London last week.
It was a painful experience for Arsenal boss Arteta, who bemoaned the defensive slip that proved decisive in the second leg.
“At the moment it is a gutted dressing room. I cannot find the right words to lift them. I wish I had them,” Arteta said.
“We tried against a team with a lot of experience. Through the tie the margins have been very small.
“In moments we have been better but we gave them two goals. That’s a big advantage to give away.
“Today you could see the margin of error was zero. We made a mistake defending the box, a big one, and we conceded a goal.
“Then it was difficult. We tried in many different ways but it’s difficult.”
Arsenal’s defeat capped a brutal four days for Arteta, whose side lost pole position in the Premier League after a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday.
But the Spaniard insisted his players deserved credit for their Champions League adventure, claiming it would take time to develop the qualities required to conquer Europe.
“This is a moment to stay next to the players, to give them support. They are the ones who have taken us on this journey,” he said.
“The club has been without Champions League for seven years. You want to play in the first year and be in the semi-finals or the final.
“We all wanted that so badly but you can see with many other clubs that sometimes it takes six or seven years to get to that stage.”