Paris Saint-Germain held their nerve in a tense and finely balanced final in Budapest, retaining their crown with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory after Saturday’s enthralling contest ended 1-1 following extra time.The decisive moment at the Puskas Arena came when Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes blazed his penalty over the crossbar – coming after Eberechi Eze had also missed earlier in the shoot-out – handing PSG a landmark triumph.
The victory makes the French champions the first club to successfully defend the trophy since Real Madrid’s dominant three-year run between 2016 and 2018.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has challenged his players to use the gut-wrenching disappointment of falling at the final hurdle as fuel to improve next season in the hope of going one step better.
“I think you have to go through the emotions,” Arteta told TNT Sports. “If you are in pain, go through the pain. If you have done something wrong, you have to learn from it.
“Reflect on that. Show the ambition that we want to go again. I’m so proud of them. That we have, under the circumstances that we know internally what we’ve been through.
‘Very tough to accept’ – Arteta has say on shoot-out loss, big penalty appeal
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“To manage this group of players, the way they carry this badge. We got to the big one [Premier League] and we missed out on the biggest one [Champions League].
“We haven’t done it for 22 years [win the league] and it is only the second time in our history [we have reached the final].
“We need to recognise the season that we had. Nobody is going to take the pain away from you. Gabriel wanted to take the last penalty. We trained for that moment.”
The agonising defeat left Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice “gutted”, yet immensely proud of his team’s achievements.
The Gunners concluded their European campaign unbeaten across 90 minutes and extra time, with their only setback coming in the cruel lottery of a penalty shoot-out in the final.
‘It’s gutting’ – Rice reacts after ‘devastating’ UCL final defeat
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“It’s devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties,” Rice told TNT Sports. “We tried to take a lot of perspective in how far we’ve come as a group. An incredible season. Our 63rd game in all competitions. We’ve given it absolutely everything.
“We took the game to penalties. It’s a lottery. That’s football, you can either win on pens or lose. Some of the best teams in the world have lost on pens. We’re on the receiving end of that tonight.
“We win together and we lose together. I’m so proud of these boys. What a season. It’s been incredible. I can’t speak highly enough of everyone. I’m obviously gutted but I’m trying to look with a bit of perspective. We’ll be back.”
Reflecting on the missed penalties from Eze and Gabriel, Rice added: “They’re devastated. Missing a penalty in a Champions League final isn’t nice. But we love them. Look, that happens in football.
“They aren’t going to be the last players to miss a penalty in finals. Everyone has missed a penalty. Without them two this season, we wouldn’t have won the Premier League. It’s cruel, but we take the positives.”
For years, PSG were portrayed as European football’s glamorous underachievers – a club blessed with immense financial resources but unable to convert domestic dominance into sustained continental success. Under Luis Enrique, however, that narrative has been decisively rewritten.
Back-to-back Champions League titles not only vindicate the club’s long-term project but also cement their place among the continent’s elite, with a growing case to be regarded as the defining force of this era.
Watch: Arsenal HEARTBREAK as PSG win UCL final after Gabriel miss
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Keown: Arsenal will come back stronger
For Arsenal and Arteta, this may be just the beginning of a period of dominance in English football, having finally ended their 22-year wait to be crowned domestic champions.
TNT Sports pundit Martin Keown, who won seven major trophies during his time with Arsenal, believes the future is bright at the Emirates Stadium.
“I’m really proud of what the team has done today,” the former defender told TNT Sports. “Twenty years ago, it felt like it was the end of an era.
“Arsene Wenger stayed on for another 10 years, but that was as far as that team under him could go. I feel there’s a lot more to come from this team. They’ve just got to now use this energy and this hurt to tackle next year’s competition.
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“Arsenal will be back bigger, better and stronger. They’ll be in the transfer market, and this is just the start for Arteta, with the confidence of winning a Premier League. They were just one penalty kick away from becoming European champions, so I think that’s a great place to build from.
“This will have really whetted the appetite of Josh Kroenke [the Arsenal co-owner], watching him give out the medals.
“Thinking of all the fans out in Africa, we know this is a huge football club and they’ve gone toe-to-toe with the best in the world. Arsenal will build upon this, maybe the attractive football will come back, the focus will always be on trying to win.”
Jack Wilshere joined Keown to analyse the game for TNT Sports, and having taken PSG so close, the former Arsenal midfielder believes Arteta’s current squad has all the hallmarks of future European champions.
What may have been as Arsenal collect runners-up medals
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Wilshere said: “It’s hard to take, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to take another 20 years for Arsenal to get to another Champions League final with this team and with Mikel in charge.
“It hurts right now and the players will be devastated, but when you look back at history and what Manchester City had to do in order to win it, they had to lose in a final. Sometimes, you have to feel that.
“History tells us that. Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool have all done the same. It’s not nice, and this is the one Arsenal will have to learn from. They will be back because Mikel demands so much.”
Just 11 days after ending their long wait for the Premier League title, Arsenal appeared poised to complete a fairytale season with a first Champions League crown.
Kai Havertz’s sixth-minute strike gave The Gunners an early advantage, and for much of the opening hour they frustrated and subdued PSG’s celebrated attack with a disciplined, composed display.
‘Their moment has come’ – PSG lift the Champions League trophy
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Yet the contest turned dramatically when Ousmane Dembele converted a penalty in the 65th minute to restore parity.
As the pace became frenetic and fatigue took hold, neither team could find a decisive breakthrough, sending the match to the tension and uncertainty of a penalty shoot-out.
Eze’s stuttering run-up before sending his spot-kick wide was a hot topic following Arsenal’s eventual loss, with TNT Sports pundit Owen Hargreaves critical of the routine.
“I’ve never been a fan of the stuttered step,” Hargreaves said. “It just puts you under more pressure, especially if the goalkeeper stands still. I prefer to see players just pick their corner. You can put a bit of doubt in your own mind, and the one thing you must do is hit the target.
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“Even just before Gabriel shoots, he looks up. There was another little stutter. Even that is such a hard thing to do. He’s looking up. I’d have just been focusing on the ball.”
But Wilshere defended Eze’s actions, responding: “People will be wondering why he did the run-up like that, but that’s part of his process and he would’ve practiced taking them that way. He’s probably scored the last 10 he’s taken in training, but this is different. I’ve never taken one in a Champions League final, but I can just imagine the pressure. It’s tough for him, he will be devastated.”
Gerrard: Enrique one of the managerial greats
Enrique joins an elite club of managers to win three European Cups/Champions Leagues. Only Carlo Ancelotti (5) has now won more.
The Spaniard joins Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola, Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane in doing so, having first collected a managerial winner’s medal while at Barcelona in 2015 when his side beat Juventus.
Enrique: ‘We are very lucky’ but ‘we deserved to win Champions League’
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Having thrashed Internazionale last season 5-0 to collect his second Champions League as a manager, this was a far closer contest in Hungary, but Gerrard heaped praise on the man who has masterminded a turnaround in fortunes on the European stage for PSG.
“I’m running out of words for this PSG team, as they’ve been doing it for so long now – but the key is their manager,” Gerrard told TNT Sports.
“He removed a lot of egos and big names out of that dressing room and he’s created a squad and a team that is capable of winning any competition.
“They’ve got so many world-class players, they’re so adaptable, well coached, and they deserve every plaudit you can give them and they deserve to be double-time champions.”
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“For sure [he’s one of the managerial greats], given the company he is keeping in terms of managerial wins in the Champions League. Let’s not forget the trauma he had a few years back with his daughter as well, so to continue to be an elite manager after that deserves a special mention.
“He’s the manager and he’s the leader of an incredible group of players. He’s got rid of the ones who could have affected that spirit that would have prevented them becoming an elite team. His leadership, his tactical ability, if he stays and keeps recruiting, anything is possible.”
Paris Saint-Germain went on to lose in the final of the Club World Cup to Chelsea last summer, and there was more than just a hint of schadenfreude from the west London club in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s misfortune.
Chelsea’s official social media account posted an image featuring both the Champions League trophy and the Club World Cup, accompanied by the message: “Come and visit London’s Home of Trophies.”
While the post made no direct reference to Arsenal, many supporters interpreted it as a pointed dig at their London rivals, who had come within touching distance of securing the first Champions League title in the club’s history.
Crystal Palace, who also won the UEFA Conference League last week following a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig posted a picture of their team with the caption; “European champions.”Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, Tottenham defender Djed Spence and forward Richarlison were also quick to update their latest social media post appearing to mock Arsenal’s Champions League agony.
Social media reaction to Arsenal heartbreak
Former Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny led messages of support for Arteta’s players, who will rouse themselves for a parade around the streets of Islington on Sunday to celebrate the achievement of winning the Premier League.
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