Schmeichel aims sly dig at Arsenal by insisting they aren’t the ‘second best team in Europe’ | OneFootball

Peter Schmeichel has insisted that Arsenal are not the second best team in Europe after seeing them reach the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.

The Gunners beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 over two legs in a low-scoring semi-final affair to book their place in the Champions League final in Bundapest on May 30.

Arsenal will now face PSG in their first final since 2006, when they lost to Barcelona 2-1, and Mikel Arteta’s side are looking for their first-ever Champions League title.

That is a feat PSG managed last season and the French side are now looking to make it back-to-back titles when they face Arsenal later this month in Hungary, after beating Bayern Munich over two legs.

But Schmeichel thinks PSG have already beaten the second best side in Europe in the semi-finals ahead of the showpiece event against Arsenal.

Schmeichel said on CBS Sports: “I think we can easily argue this but I still think today Bayern Munich are still the second best team in Europe and PSG is by far the best.

“It’s something you take. If you have to leave a tournament like this and got beaten by a much better team that is some consolation. You can take that on and get some confidence for next season.

“They have progressed. They are further in the tournament than they were last season. You have to give Kompany credit for having improved his side, using his way of playing.

“It takes time to get to that level. It’s taken time for PSG as well.

“At the beginning of the game Olse got the ball and he lost it straight away. He got the ball again within a couple of seconds and slipped and lost it again.

“They never really recovered from that. Harry Kane went a little bit deep and got tackled and as Harry Kane is doing he seeks all that space but he was closed down all the time.

“PSG right from the first moment kind of sucked all the confidence out of Bayern Munich. Confidence is what we’ve seen all the way through so it was very uncharacteristic.”

Kompany: If we look at both legs probably too much went against us.

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany insisted that “too much went against” his side from the officials during the two legs against PSG, which they lost 6-5.

When asked what he said to his players after the match, Kompany told TNT Sports: “I understand if they’re disappointed. I think we gave everything.

“It was a game of details. I think we’ve played five times against PSG in the last two years and we’ve won two times, they’ve won two times and now was a draw, so it’s just been that kind of game every single time.

“We have to look at some of the phases that were decided by the officials across the two games which, it’s never an excuse for everything…but it matters.

“If we look at both legs probably too much went against us. The guys gave everything and we tried against a fantastic PSG team.”