Mikel Arteta discusses the disappointed Arsenal team in the dressing room following the defeat to Bayern Munich.

MUNICH, GERMANY – APRIL 17: Mikel Arteta, the head coach of Arsenal FC, couldn’t hide his disappointment following his team’s 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg.

The match was evenly poised after a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Emirates, but Joshua Kimmich’s diving header proved to be the difference between the two sides.

This loss means that Arsenal, who were making their return to Europe’s top competition after a seven-year absence, have been knocked out at the quarter-final stage. It’s a familiar story for the Gunners, as Bayern Munich have eliminated them in the last 16 in 2013, 2014, and 2016.

Bayern Munich have become Arsenal’s bogey team in the Champions League, having also thrashed them 5-1 in the group stages in 2015.

Speaking after the match, Arteta described the atmosphere in the dressing room as “gutted” and expressed his disappointment.

“It’s a really gutted dressing room; very disappointed,” Arteta told TNT Sports.

“I cannot find the right words to lift them; I wish I had them. We had to go through it. We tried against a team that had a lot of experience and through the tie the margins have been very small.

“We gave them two goals and that’s a big advantage to give away. Today you could see that there was no margin of error.

“We made a mistake defending the box – a big one – and we conceded a goal. Then we tried in many different ways, but it’s difficult. This is the moment to stick with the players, give them support and stick to them because they are the ones that have taken us on this journey.

“It had to be a mistake or a magic moment that unlocks this tie. I think we could have won it, I think we were better than them and we had a lot of moments of dominance, but those moments of spark are what you need in these ties to get through.

“The club has been playing without the Champions League for seven years. They wanted to be in the semi-finals and the final – we wanted that – so badly, but you can see in many other clubs that it sometimes takes six or seven years to get to that stage but we are very close and that’s the reality.

“What we have to play is beautiful; we have six games to go and we are two points behind City. A very difficult schedule for everybody. We had to go through the pain tonight. Tomorrow, get up and come with the same attitude that we had here and beat Wolves.”