Arsenal fans are despairing after they fell victim to football’s cruelest fate: defeat on penalties in the Champions League final.
It is the Gunners’ second heartbreak in European football’s major final: The first came against Barcelona in a 2-1 defeat in 2006 before this loss at the hands of back-to-back winners Paris Saint-Germain.
Kai Havertz opened the scoring inside the first five minutes of the final but PSG levelled with Ousmane Dembele’s penalty on 64 minutes. The teams went to extra-time but neither could find a winner, meaning the dreaded decider for all English teams: penalties.
Eberechi Eze missed Arsenal’s second spot kick but Portuguese star Nuno Mendes then saw his kick saved by David Raya. Arsenal’s players were otherwise near-perfect but when it came to centre back Gabriel for the fifth and final penalty, he blazed over the crossbar.
It was the ultimate heartbreak for Arsenal fans. They had packed the Puskas Arena in Budapest, a fanzone in the city and the Emirates Stadium and hundreds of London pubs back at home.
It was heartbreak for Arsenal fans in their Champions League final defeat in Budapest
Arsenal fans in a pub despair in their Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain
Arsenal fans react as they see their team lose the penalty shoot-out near to their stadium
Former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson admitted afterwards on the BBC: ‘If you start to break it down on the numbers, percentages, possession and passes. You would think it was a one-sided boxing match.
‘In many aspects it was, but it was designed that way on purpose to achieve a goal to win the Champions League, and it was inches away. It was within touching distance.’
PSG landed the first psychological blow of the penalty shoot-out when they won the coin toss with the shoot-out taking place in front of their supporters at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Gabriel, arguably Arsenal’s best player on the night after he put his body on the line to keep PSG at bay across 120 minutes, responded by lifting his shirt over his face as his team-mates attempted to console the agonised defender.
Arsenal had been in dreamland after just 302 seconds when Havertz vindicated Mikel Arteta’s decision to pick him ahead of marquee summer signing Viktor Gyokeres.
There was more than a hint of fortune in the way the ball broke for Havertz after Marquinhos’ attempted clearance smashed into Leandro Trossard’s left shoulder.
But there was nothing lucky about Havertz’s masterful finish. Havertz, who has form on the big stage, having fired Chelsea to Champions League glory against Manchester City five years and one day ago, took three decisive touches with his left foot before unleashing his fourth into the roof of the net.
Arsenal had lift-off, and history was on their side, or so they thought. The previous 11 teams to take the lead in the final had gone on to lift the trophy.
Gabriel missed – and then was engulfed by celebrating PSG players close to him
David Raya was so close to being Arsenal’s hero but his night ended in tears
The Arsenal players had to watch their PSG rivals walk up to collect the trophy in Budapest
After Havertz’s opener – and little did the Gunners know at that stage that it would be their only shot on target – it became a game of attack versus defence.
Arsenal were struggling to string more than a handful of passes together, and the 17,000 fans behind Raya’s goal cheered every clearance.
PSG’s dominance carried over into the second half, and Arsenal’s resistance finally collapsed as the game passed the hour mark.
Makeshift right-back Cristhian Mosquera got caught on the wrong side of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and after going through the back of PSG’s brilliant winger, German referee Daniel Siebert did not hesitate in pointing to the spot. Dembele made no mistake 12 yards, and Mosquera escaped a second caution.
Tears flowed for Arsenal fans after Gabriel missed the crucial penalty in Budapest
Fans gathered outside the Emirates Stadium were left upset by the dramatic ending
It felt as though history could be repeating for the Gunners – who led on their sole visit to the Champions League final in 2006 only to see Barcelona strike two late goals.
Arsene Wenger, the man who took them there, watched on pensively from the stands.
Wenger’s side were unable to take the final to extra time. Here, they did – just. But no goals came and ultimately they fell to the pain of penalties.
For PSG, though, it was ecstacy. ‘We are so, so proud, so happy and grateful,’ their winger Desire Doue told TNT Sports. ‘It was a tough game against a good team. We have to enjoy this as a team as a family because we deserve it. Look at the crowd! I thank my lord and saviour Jesus Christ because that was my prayer.’
London’s beer gardens were packed as fans gathered around big screens at Boxpark
Thousands travelled to Budapest without tickets and watched from fan parks and bars
