Arsenal’s dream of finally winning the Champions League ended in dismay on Saturday night as Mikel Arteta’s men lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners can hold their heads up high, however, after coming so close to landing a Premier League and Champions League double. Looking at the match stats or the game itself, it’s fair to say the better team won on the night. But the north London side defended stoutly and made life extremely difficult for the European champions. On another night, the Gunners might have nicked it, but it wasn’t to be on this occasion.
Despite having to settle for runners-up medals in Budapest, Arsenal were the only side to have gone through the 2025/26 tournament without losing a match (penalties aside!). They also had three players in the Champions League Team of the Season: David Raya, Declan Rice, and Gabriel. Football is cruel, however, and making the Team of the Season will be scant consolation to Gabriel, who blazed Arsenal’s crucial fifth penalty over the bar!
Outplayed But Not Out-Gunnered
Comparing the teamsheets ahead of kick-off on Saturday, it was always likely PSG would come out on top. The Gunners have many excellent players, but Luis Enrique’s side oozes class in almost every position. With the likes of Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Brazilian defensive stalwart Marquinhos, the Portuguese duo of Vitinha and João Neves, and the attacking wizardry of Désiré Doué and Georgian ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Arsenal would do well to avoid a hefty defeat.
| PSG Starting 11 | Arsenal Starting 11 |
|---|---|
| Matvey Safonov | David Raya |
| Achraf Hakimi | Cristhian Mosquera |
| Marquinhos | William Saliba |
| Willian Pacho | Gabriel Magalhães |
| Nuno Mendes | Piero Hincapié |
| João Neves | Declan Rice |
| Vitinha | Myles Lewis-Skelly |
| Fabián Ruiz | Bukayo Saka |
| Désiré Doué | Martin Ødegaard |
| Ousmane Dembélé | Leandro Trossard |
| Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Kai Havertz |
As it turned out, it was Arteta’s side who struck first, Kai Havertz bursting clear and firing past a helpless Matvey Safonov in the sixth minute. It was the second time the German had scored in a Champions League final after he netted the winner for Chelsea against Manchester City in the 2021 showpiece. On this occasion, it wasn’t enough to earn victory. Indeed, Havertz’s goal was his side’s only shot on target of the whole 120 minutes.
With just over 75% possession and 21 shots on goal for PSG, it was almost all one-way traffic after Arsenal’s goal. But the Gunners showed their defensive excellence as they snuffed out the danger time and time again. Of the 21 shots PSG mustered, only seven were on target. Even so, it was only a matter of time before they got the equaliser. It came in the 65th minute after Cristhian Mosquera bundled over Kvaratskhelia in the box. Already on a booking, Mosquera was perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch, but Arteta subbed him within minutes as he was beginning to get overrun at right back.
Dembélé, who had a very quiet game by his high standards, converted from the spot to level the scores. And then it was a matter of whether Arsenal could avoid conceding a second while maybe looking to sneak a goal on the break. They achieved one of those aims, and after a rather tepid extra time in which many players were visibly depleted, the outcome of Europe’s premier club competition would be decided by penalties.
Bad Misses Cost Gunners
It’s easy to say when watching a penalty shootout from the comfort of an armchair, but a professional footballer really should at least hit the target. That’s something both Gabriel and Eberechi Eze failed to do in the shootout against PSG. Eze’s stuttering run-up would not have instilled too much confidence among Arsenal fans, and he hit the ball past the left post with the keeper looking unlikely to have got near it. Gabriel, meanwhile, took the fifth penalty with PSG 4-3 to the good. The defender, who has been a massive part of Arsenal’s success this term, blazed it over the bar to break the Gunners’ hearts.
Realistically, the better side won, and Arsenal did very well to make it as far as penalties. Had Arteta’s men won, it would no doubt have been argued that they didn’t deserve it, that they went there to defend and that they played anti-football. Of course, Arsenal fans wouldn’t have cared a jot. But PSG were far more deserving of victory, and it painted a picture of the levels Arsenal will need to reach if they are to become European champions in the future.
Champions League Defeat but Successful Campaign
Now the dust has settled after the final defeat, Arsenal enjoyed a hero’s welcome during a parade on Sunday afternoon in north London to celebrate the side’s Premier League triumph. Despite a disappointing ending, it has to be said that Arteta has masterminded an excellent season for his side.
Riding high 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5hoewAxPtK
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 31, 2026
They won the Premier League for the first time since 2003/04, with a seven-point margin ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. They also made the Champions League final for the first time since 2005/6, and they didn’t get beaten in normal time.
The question is: can Arsenal build on this season’s achievement and create a period of sustained success at the club? The answer to that might lie in the transfer dealings the Gunners undertake over the coming weeks and months. For now, Arsenal fans can enjoy their first Premier League crown in a generation, safe in the knowledge they are no longer the side that bottles it.
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