Arsene Wenger has acknowledged that football "can be very cruel" as the prospect of silverware in his final Arsenal season came crashing down at Atletico Madrid.
The Gunners manager, who will be stepping down at the end of the season after a 22-year tenure at the club, was hoping to guide his side to the final of the Europa League.
However, there was to be no fairytale ending for Wenger, as Atletico ran out 1-0 winners in Thursday's semi-final second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano for a 2-1 aggregate triumph over the North Londoners.
"It was a similar game to what we had in the first leg," Wenger told BT Sport. "The dangerous situations we created were there but we missed something in both boxes. We played a good team and good luck to them in the final but we feel we did enough to go through.
"We didn't manage the important moments of either game well. We were 1-0 up with ten minutes to go at home, and then we conceded a stupid goal. Tonight we looked OK and then conceded on the counter attack.
"Atletico played with fear in the first half that if we score they could be out, but once they scored they played with a cushion. We lost possession and Diego Costa is one of the best strikers in the world.
"It is very very sad but unfortunately you have to go through this in our game. It can be very cruel but sometimes it is nice. The suffering is tough tonight."
Wenger's final game in charge of Arsenal will be away at Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on May 13.
Giuseppe Labellarte
