A number of Arsenal’s rivals have poked fun at the Gunners after they lost the Champions League final on penalties.
After a tense final with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missed their spot kicks in the penalty shootout to ensure Arsenal’s season ended in heartbreak, despite their Premier League title win.
And rivals wasted no time in mocking the defeat.
First up were Chelsea, who have had a few run-ins with their London neighbours. Within minutes of Gabriel’s miss, the Blues, who won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021, shared a post on social media that inadvertently took aim at Arsenal.
They posted a link to a booking form for stadium tours, with the caption: ‘Come and visit London’s home of trophies.’ The main image showed the Champions League trophy.
Then, Erling Haaland, Manchester City’s record-breaking striker who has often been a scourge of the Gunners, had his say.
Arsenal’s rivals, including Erling Haaland, poked fun at the Gunners after they lost the Champions League final on penalties
Gabriel (left), who missed Arsenal’s decisive penalty, has clashed with Haaland on a number of occasions in recent years
Haaland has had a number of clashes with Gabriel in recent years, and threw the ball at the defender’s head during a game between the two sides in 2024.
This year, during City’s 2-1 win over Arsenal in April, the two players squared up and Gabriel appeared to narrowly avoid a red card after pushing his head forward.
Not long after the Brazilian missed the spot kick, Haaland shared a snap to social media which showed the forward smiling and appearing to enjoy the sun with some friends.
Some fans snapped back, with one writing: ‘At least we didn’t bottle the league like you.’
Another posted: ‘Why are you so happy? You didn’t win the cup!’
Haaland wasn’t the only player to poke fun, either. Djed Spence, who plays for Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham, hopped on the trend too.
Back in February, Arsenal’s X account posted a video of Bukayo Saka and Cristhian Mosquera getting the better of Spence, with the caption: ‘Locked up.’
Spence, on Saturday night, quoted the post with eyeball and padlock emojis.
In response, one fan replied: ‘What a wild thing to tweet after your rivals win the Prem and you almost get relegated.’
Another replied: ‘Imagine players who narrowly escaped relegation having the audacity to banter others. Find some shame, son.
‘When your season was spent looking over your shoulder at the relegation zone, you’d think a little humility would come naturally.’
Richarlison, meanwhile, who also plays for Tottenham, shared a video of a child laughing (or maybe crying?!) on his Instagram story.
In another Spurs link, former midfielder Jamie O’Hara posted a photo of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry laughing with the caption: ‘Bonjour.’
Crystal Palace chimed in too, sharing a graphic reading: ‘European champions’ within minutes of full-time, having won the Conference League just days ago.
And Joao Neves, who played the whole game for PSG in the final, took aim at Arsenal’s style of play in the final.
The Gunners had one shot on target in the game and less than 25 per cent of the ball. It all comes after manager Mikel Arteta had boasted: ‘On Saturday, we are going to be champions of Europe’ at an event.
‘Coming here was the best decision I’ve ever made,’ Neves said. ‘I love everything here. We deserved it today, because PSG were the only team that wanted to play.’
Arsenal will now head back to north London ahead of their Premier League title parade on Sunday – though they will be showing off just the one trophy rather than two.
