Arsenal heartbreak as PSG win Champions League final on penalties
Arsenal lost the Champions League final 4-3 in a penalty shootout. The game finished 1-1 in normal time and after extra time. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
For 65 glorious minutes, Arsenal could almost touch history.
Twenty years after losing their only previous Champions League final in Paris, Mikel Arteta's side produced a performance in Budapest that seemed destined to deliver the greatest night in the club's history. Newly crowned Premier League champions after ending a 22-year wait for the title, Arsenal stood on the brink of completing a remarkable double and finally claiming the one major trophy that has always eluded them.
Instead, football's cruellest competition delivered another painful lesson.
The trophy holders survived. Paris Saint-Germain retained their crown and Luis Enrique's side etched their own place into European football history after prevailing on penalties following a dramatic 1-1 draw that lasted 120 exhausting minutes.
Arsenal left with nothing but admiration, heartbreak and perhaps one lingering grievance from a penalty shout waved away.
The foundations for glory had been established in a magnificent opening period illuminated by a stunning sixth-minute goal from Kai Havertz.
The German, who famously scored the winner for Chelsea against Manchester City in the 2021 final, became only the third player to score for two different clubs in Champions League finals, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic in an exclusive group.
It was a goal worthy of the occasion.
Given far too much space down the left flank, Havertz surged into the penalty area before hammering a ferocious finish into the roof of the net beyond Matvei Safonov. The Arsenal supporters behind the goal erupted. At that moment, everything appeared to be unfolding exactly as Arteta had imagined.
The Arsenal manager's two bold selection decisions looked inspired. Cristhian Mosquera started at right-back despite Jurrien Timber's return to fitness, while Havertz was preferred to Viktor Gyokeres in attack.
Both excelled.
Mosquera handled PSG's star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia superbly for more than an hour while Havertz justified Arteta's faith with a finish that seemed destined to become part of Arsenal folklore.
The atmosphere inside the magnificent Puskas Arena was extraordinary. Arsenal's end was a sea of red and white. Opposite them, PSG's supporters created a constant wall of noise, flags and colour.
Yet for much of the first half, it was Arsenal's fans who could be heard above everyone else.
Midway through the half, during a drinks break in the humid Budapest heat, every Arsenal substitute sprinted onto the pitch to join Arteta and the starting XI for instructions. Every player was involved. Every player was invested. It was a small detail but a revealing one, reflecting the togetherness Arteta has spent six-and-a-half years building.
Statistics appeared to favour Arsenal too. The previous 11 teams to score first in a Champions League final had all gone on to lift the trophy.
But PSG are champions for a reason.
Enrique's side emerged after the break with renewed purpose and gradually began to suffocate Arsenal through possession. The drums and chants from the Parisian end finally drowned out Arsenal's supporters as wave after wave of pressure arrived.
Arsenal defended magnificently. Neutrals may point to their lack of attacking ambition after taking the lead. In truth, this looked more like a defensive masterclass against arguably the most dangerous attacking side in Europe.
Then came the turning point.
In the 64th minute, Kvaratskhelia finally escaped Mosquera's attention, got the wrong side of the defender and was clipped from behind inside the area. It was a painful moment for the young Spaniard, who had been outstanding until then.
The penalty was converted by Ousmane Dembele and suddenly the momentum of the final shifted.
Arteta reacted immediately, sending on Timber and Gyokeres in an attempt to regain control. Arsenal tried to rediscover their attacking threat but PSG sensed vulnerability. Kvaratskhelia struck a post after beating William Saliba and Vitinha skimmed a shot narrowly over.
Extra time followed.
By now both teams were running on courage and instinct. Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty when Noni Madueke was bundled over by Nuno Mendes. Declan Rice and Arteta were both booked for their furious protests and the incident will be debated for years by Arsenal supporters.
The statistics told one story. PSG finished with more than 75 per cent possession and around 20 shots to Arsenal's four.
The performance told another.
Unlike Inter Milan, beaten 5-0 by PSG in last season's final, Arsenal fought the European champions until the very last kick.
Gyokeres almost won it before penalties, seeing a late effort deflected agonisingly wide. Then came the shootout.
After nearly 11 months, more than 60 matches and countless highs and lows, Arsenal's season came down to five kicks.
PSG struck first through Goncalo Ramos before Gyokeres responded. Desire Doue restored PSG's advantage before Eberechi Eze dragged his penalty wide. Rice and Gabriel Martinelli kept Arsenal alive and when David Raya brilliantly saved from Mendes, hope returned.
But penalties have never been kind or favoured the hopeful.
Achraf Hakimi and Beraldo converted for PSG. Then Gabriel stepped forward, needing to score to keep Arsenal alive.
His effort sailed over the crossbar.
The PSG players sprinted away in celebration. Arsenal's players collapsed where they stood.
For Enrique and PSG, history had been made again.
For Arsenal, the wait goes on.
Yet if this painful night proved anything, it is that Arteta's side belong at this level. They pushed the champions harder than anyone expected and, after a season that delivered a first league title in 22 years, they leave Budapest not as European champions but as genuine contenders to return and try again.
Safonov 6; Nuno Mendes 7, Pacho 6, Marquinhos 6, Hakimi 6; João Neves 7, Vitinha 7 (Beraldo 105), Fabian Ruiz 7 (Zaire-Emery 95); Doué 6, Dembélé 6 (Ramos 90), Kvaratskhelia 7 (Barcola 83).
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Zabarnyi, Kang-in Lee, Lucas Hernandez, Mayulu, Dro Fernandez, Mbaye.
Raya 7, Mosquera 6 (Timber 66) , Saliba 7, Gabriel 6, Hincapie 7, Rice 7, Lewis-Skelly 7 (Zubimendi 91), Odegaard 6 (Gyokeres 66), Saka 6 (Madueke 83), Havertz 7 (Eze 91), Trossard 6 (Martinelli 83).
Kepa, Jesus, Norgaard, Merino, Calafiori, Dowman.
Daniel Siebert 5
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