Sokratis Apologises to Arsenal Fans After Europa League Final Loss to Chelsea

Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has apologised to the fans after the 4-1 loss to Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League final, telling them they deserve better. 

The Greek centre-back took to social media on Friday:

Team-mate Granit Xhaka also voiced his disappointment:

Both played from start to finish in the defeat on Wednesday, holding their own in the first half before the Blues pulled away the break.

Former Gunners forward Olivier Giroud got the opening goal with a diving header, and Pedro doubled the lead after great work from Eden Hazard. The Belgian then added a third from the penalty spot and, while Alex Iwobi gave his side some faint hope with a strong volley, Hazard again struck to put the final score on the board.

The result gave Chelsea the title and ensured Arsenal won't play in next year's UEFA Champions League.

According to Sami Mokbel of MailOnline, the loss of Champions League revenue means the Gunners will have just £45 million to address their transfer needs this summer:

That relatively small budget will be a great obstacle toward improving a squad that ran out of steam during the 2018-19 campaign.

Manager Unai Emery got the side off to a great start in his first season in the Premier League―Arsenal went on a lengthy unbeaten streak after losing their first two matches, before finally suffering defeat against Southampton in December―but the team did not finish strongly, finishing behind local rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in the standings.

The manager believes Arsenal will still find the players they need, despite the lack of Champions League football:

Arsenal do have several talented players with tremendous room for growth in their squad, and the likes of Iwobi, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira flashed enough potential this season to warrant major expectations in the 2019-20 campaign.

The duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette is also a strong one to build an attack around, and the return of Hector Bellerin will be a major boost to the squad.