Arsenal’s heartbroken stars were seen trudging out of their hotel in Budapest on Sunday morning, hours after their brutal Champions League final defeat by PSG.
The Gunners suffered the pain of losing on penalties after Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both missed the target.
Gabriel’s effort, which he blazed over the bar, was the attempt that sealed PSG’s second successive victory in the tournament and the Brazilian looked at the ground as he headed towards the team bus on Sunday morning.
Eze’s spirits appeared higher, with the Englishman giving a peace sign to the cameras outside the team hotel.
Defeated manager Mikel Arteta, dressed all in black, was seen wheeling his suitcase to the bus taking them to the airport in Hungary.
Martin Odegaard, David Raya, Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard were also among those pictured looking glum.
Gabriel (left) looked at the ground as he left the team hotel after the Champions League defeat
Eberechi Eze gave a peace sign to the cameras as he headed towards the team bus
No doubt spirits will be lifted when Arsenal touch back down and begin the celebrations at their parade later in the afternoon, celebrating their Premier League triumph.
The parade starts at 2pm and the men’s and women’s teams will both take part.
The bus route is a five-mile loop around Islington in north London to mark the Premier League win for the men and FIFA Women’s Champions Cup for the women.
But there was to be no historic double, with Luis Enrique’s brilliant champions finding a way to triumph against Arsenal’s formidable defence.
It had been a perfect start for the English side, with Kai Havertz smashing home just six minutes into the final at Puskas Arena.
The Gunners limited their opponents to hardly any chances of note but the game turned again in the second half.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drew a foul out of Cristian Mosquera in the box and Ousmane Dembele scored the resulting penalty to make it 1-1.
PSG had 75 per cent possession and Bradley Barcola spurned two chances in extra time to fire his side ahead.
Mikel Arteta and Co were beaten on penalties by PSG in Saturday night’s showpiece
David Raya made one save in the shootout but it was not to be for the Gunners
The lottery of spot kicks decided a nail-biting contest. Nuno Mendes had his penalty saved by David Raya but Eze and Gabriel’s misses proved decisive.
Gabriel, the centre-back who has been at the heart of Arsenal’s excellence all season, was given the fifth penalty.
Reflecting on that decision after the game, Arteta said: ‘He wanted to take it. Normally the penalty takers would be Bukayo [Saka], Martin [Odegaard] and Kai [Havertz].
‘But we knew if the game went to extra-time and penalties, different players would have to step forward.’
The Gunners are still yet to win a Champions League title in their history and the wait goes on.
