Budapest
In a season where Arsenal thought it had brushed off the bridesmaid tag, Mikel Arteta’s side still found itself suffering from another heartbreaking nearly moment.
The Gunners had held the lead for almost an hour at the Puskás Aréna on Saturday as they hunted the first Champions League title in the club’s storied history. But a clumsy tackle and a penalty shootout later, and Arsenal left Budapest with nothing.
At their expense, it was Paris Saint-Germain celebrating in the Hungarian capital. Another impressive campaign, another trophy held aloft and perhaps the start of a dynasty that threatens to rule over European soccer for many more years to come.
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Despite the 1-1 scoreline and the narrow nature of the penalty shootout result, PSG deserved to retain the title. It wasn’t as impressive as the 5-0 thrashing Les Parisiens dealt Inter Milan in last year’s final, but it found a way to win yet again.
And any notion that it wouldn’t mean as much the second time around was firmly put to bed during the trophy presentation. The entire squad, coaches and backroom staff jumped in delight on the podium as gold confetti rained down around them.
Meanwhile, the club’s famed support continued to sing behind the goal. In truth, they started about an hour before kickoff and never really stopped.
Arsenal heartbreak
You just had to look at the faces of the Arsenal fans inside the stadium to see what this final meant to them. Even after watching their team go ahead through Kai Havertz’s wonderful finish, fans still held deep-rooted anxiety.
As the game wore on, those nerves intensified. One fan was unable to sit still and was given special permission by stewards to stand near an exit to work off his anxious energy by pogo’ing on the spot.
One member of the media, donned in a retro Arsenal shirt, also jumped over a small barrier to watch extra time and penalties in the stands, suddenly becoming another nervous fan with pain written all over his face.
It wasn’t just in Budapest that Arsenal fans were watching in their numbers. The club’s home stadium also opened its doors to allow supporters to watch together on giant screens. Pubs and bars around north London were also filled to the brim with people hoping to see more history made by the beloved team.
The party hadn’t really stopped since the club wrapped up its first Premier League title in 22 years last week, but those celebrations came to a screeching halt after Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both failed to convert from the penalty spot.
The noise of celebrations across London fell quiet in an instant. Fans streamed out of the stadium in Budapest and the players fell to the grass in anguish.
“Pain,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said when asked how he felt shortly after defeat. “You are just a few penalty kicks away from winning the biggest club competition.”
“I said to the players and the staff is that if I tell them one million times, ‘Thank you’, it’s not going to be enough.
“And it’s not because we won the Premier League, and it’s not because we played the Champions League final … it’s because of the joy and the moments that we have lived together every single day, and that’s above anything else.”
In this moment, it doesn’t really matter if Arsenal played well or if they shared brilliant moments this season. At the moment, all they’ll feel is the crushing disappointment of another missed opportunity.
The players ultimately know how close they came to legendary status, and this defeat will be a scar they hold with them for a long time, just like the beaten Arsenal finalists in 2006.
It’s going to be a task for this current crop of players to pick themselves up for the planned trophy parade on Sunday, with a million people expected to line the streets of London to celebrate the Premier League title.
In truth, though, maybe that’s exactly what these players need to raise their spirits after what has been a season to remember.
Paris delight
The night really belonged to PSG. It once again timed its form to perfection, shaking off a sluggish start in the competition to come through as worthy winners.
It’s the first time since Real Madrid in 2018 that a champion has retained the trophy – it really is, or should be, that hard to win.
Much of that success is down to manager Luis Enrique, who once again reaffirmed his position as one of the greatest managers in the world, maybe even of all time.
The Spaniard now joins an elite club of managers after clinching his third Champions League title, winning his first for Barcelona in 2015 and adding his second for PSG last year.
Pep Guardiola, Bob Paisley and Zinédine Zidane have also won three trophies, while Carlo Ancelotti is out on his own after winning this tournament a record five times.
Under Enrique, this PSG team has transformed into a winning machine. You could see from the press conference on the eve of the final just how hyper-focused his players were.
Both Ousmane Dembélé and Marquinhos spoke highly of their boss, praising him and his staff for meticulously planning what they said had been a tricky season to navigate.
Those same players could be heard singing and dancing in the locker room as the man they trust so much walked into the news conference room to speak to the press after the win.
“We have written history, we are going down in history,” Enrique said, adding he would relax over summer before turning his attention to winning a third straight Champions League title.
What will strike fear into the rest of Europe is that many of the PSG players are still young. They still have room to grow and get even better. All that while arguably playing the most entertaining and attractive soccer in the world.
“We’re going to enjoy it first and after, we’re going to work and work again because we want more. We are really hungry,” PSG’s 20-year-old winger Désiré Doué said after the match.
“We are a young team, and we are really ambitious. Next season we have to go again.”
The stats show how good they are as well. After Dembélé’s equalizer in the final, PSG tied as the highest scoring team in Champions League history – only the 1999-2000 Barcelona team has scored 45 goals in a single campaign as well.
And after helping his team defend the title this year, Dembélé has also taken a big step towards defending his own Balon d’Or crown as well. The Frenchman didn’t have an amazing game but his equalizing penalty showed just how adept he’s become in the biggest moments.
Strangely, both teams are set to celebrate tomorrow. PSG will party with the Champions League trophy, while Arsenal will commemorate the Premier League.
You sense one of the parties will be tinged with a slight element of regret.
