Arsenal are facing a steep learning curve after being knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich. The Gunners were level on aggregate after the first leg of their quarter-final tie but fell to a 1-0 defeat in Germany on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been close to faultless domestically since the turn of the year, winning ten of their 12 league games. However, Arsenal exuded a more chaotic, less experienced energy during their Champions League campaign.

This was typified by the end-to-end start of their first leg with Bayern, allowing the away side to go in front by half-time, despite Arsenal taking an early lead. In the return clash, the Gunners lacked the assuredness required to turn the tie in their favour. Post-match, the manager admitted that his squad were missing a key element for Champions League success.

“We haven’t played this competition for seven years and we haven’t been in this stage for 14 years,” Arteta said. “There’s a reason for it. We want to do everything fast forward super quick in one season.

“I think we have the capacity and the quality to be in the semi-final because the margins are very small. Those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don’t have yet. We have to learn it. When you look historically it took other clubs seven, eight or 10 years to do it.”

It is not only the players who will have to learn to cope better with the demands of the Champions League but also the manager. Arteta has shown an ability to transform his team into title contenders. Even if Arsenal fall short of winning the league this term, the Gunners have ironed out some of their issues from last season.

The same logic can be applied to the Champions League. Arteta must lean on his advice to trust the process and develop a confident style of play in Europe. There is no quick fix, though. Arteta only needs to look at his former mentor, Pep Guardiola, to see that.

Despite Manchester City’s recent dominance in the Premier League, it was not until Guardiola’s fifth season in charge that his side went beyond the quarter-final stage in the Champions League, finishing runners-up to Chelsea in 2021. This period included three consecutive quarter-final exits.

Breaking their quarter-final streak and finishing runners-up created a strong base for Man City to build upon, reaching the semi-finals in 2022 before winning the trophy in Guardiola’s seventh year in charge. Man City may have exited at the last eight, once again, but they dominated Real Madrid on Wednesday night and lost in a penalty shootout. A contrasting performance to the Gunners’ defeat in Munich.

Arsenal were looking to reach the Champions League semi-final for only the third time in their history and that inexperience showed. However, Arteta is continuing to improve as a coach and has already shown that he is capable of shifting Arsenal’s mentality. Under his leadership, Arteta will be confident of helping Arsenal follow the blueprint provided by Man City and Guardiola.

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