Thursday’s briefing: Arsenal exit Europe as Man Utd and Spurs eye Bilbao final

Arsenal’s Champions League dream is over after they lost their semi-final against Paris St Germain 3-1 on aggregate.

Elsewhere, Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim and Tottenham counterpart Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media ahead of their Europa League semi-finals.

Paris heartbreak for Arsenal

Arsenal’s bid to win the Champions League for the first time is over after they suffered a 2-1 second-leg defeat to Paris St Germain at the Parc des Princes.

Mikel Arteta’s players were already one goal down in the semi-final, and, despite a strong start, they were two behind in the tie when Fabian Ruiz struck for PSG after 27 minutes.

Vitinha missed a penalty before Achraf Hakimi put the match out of sight in the 72nd minute.

Bukayo Saka pulled one back for Arsenal four minutes later, but it is PSG, who have beaten three Premier League sides in a row,, that will play Inter Milan in the final on May 31.

Amorim takes hard stance on Bruno links

Ruben Amorim has stressed his desire to keep Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes amid interest from Saudi Arabia, calling him “one of the top players in the world”.

The 30-year-old playmaker has starred for the Red Devils since joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2020, with Al-Hilal reportedly plotting a big-money swoop.

“I think it is easy to understand (his importance) – not just because of the numbers but the way he plays, the importance that he has during his five years here,” Amorim said on the eve of United’s Europa League semi-final second leg.

“He is a top player, we need top players. He is a leader, he’s the captain, so he’s really important.

“It’s normal that a lot of clubs want a player like Bruno, like (Alejandro) Garnacho, like others.

“But we want to keep the best players and Bruno is clearly one of the top players in the world, so our idea didn’t change. We want Bruno here.”

Laughing matters for Ange

Ange Postecoglou laughed off criticism from Arsene Wenger about Tottenham potentially qualifying for next season’s Champions League by winning the Europa League and joked the club does “crazy things” to people.

Despite being on course for their worst Premier League finish of 16th, winning the second-tier European competition would earn them qualification for the Champions League due to a UEFA rule in place since the 2014-15 campaign.

However, ex-Arsenal boss Wenger – currently head of global football development at FIFA – said they or potential finalists Manchester United should not be able to get into Europe’s elite competition via the Europa League and urged UEFA to “review” the ruling.

Ahead of Thursday’s semi-final second-leg showdown with Bodo/Glimt, Postecoglou said: “Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days.

“I’ve never heard that before. I’ve said it before, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.

“Why wasn’t there an issue before and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is.

What’s on today?

Manchester United and Tottenham hope to finalise an all-English Europa League final in Bilbao by finishing the jobs off in their respective semi-finals.

United will defend a 3-0 aggregate first-leg lead against Athletic Bilbao at Old Trafford, while Spurs lead Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt 3-1 as they travel to the Arctic Circle.

Chelsea will aim to rubber-stamp their place in the Conference League final as they host Swedish side Djurgarden having won the away leg 4-1 last week.

And the Championship play-offs also kick off, with Sheffield United visiting Bristol City in the first leg of their semi-final.