PSG retain title as Arsenal’s European nightmare continues

The celebrations in Paris may have turned violent, but the city is in joy. Budapest, beneath the lights of the Puskas Arena, was painted unequivocally in red and blue.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) successfully defended their Champions League title against Arsenal in a penalty shootout on Saturday.

They are the only team after Real Madrid to do so ever since the competition was renamed in 1993. This is PSG’s second and Luis Enrique’s third Champions League title as a manager.

For Arsenal, it is the deja vu of the final two decades ago. Back in 2006, at the Stade de France in Paris, Arsene Wenger’s invincible generation were down to ten men early on, but the Gunners were leading with a goal coming from Sol Campbell in the first half.

Wenger’s men were only fourteen minutes away from glory – their first-ever Champions League title – before Barcelona orchestrated a late comeback thanks to Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti’s goals, leaving Arsenal broken in Paris.

On Saturday, twenty years later, Mikel Arteta finally guided the club back to the final.

The club has also won the Premier League title after 22 years, and a European glory would have capped the team and Arteta as absolute legends.

Arsenal struck first, sending Puskas Arena into disbelief. Kai Havertz, a man who knows exactly what it takes to score in a Champions League final, broke the deadlock in the fifth minute of the game.

What followed for the next forty minutes was a defensive exhibition by Arsenal.

Arteta’s men dropped into a brilliant, compact shape that did not allow PSG to exploit any spaces.

The Parisian attack, which has been devastating all season long, was restricted to only a single meaningful shot on target for the entirety of the first half.

While PSG maintained the majority of the possession, they were unable to create anything dangerous in the 30-yard box.

Arsenal went into the tunnel at halftime with one hand on the trophy, their defensive discipline looking impenetrable.

As the second half commenced, PSG tried to gain control of the game with a renewed, ferocious intensity.

Enrique’s men began applying pressure on the North Londoners, with Vitinha, Ousmane Dembele, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia leading the attack with individual quality.

In the 61st minute of the game, Kvaratskhelia was brought down by Cristhian Mosquera’s challenge, earning the Parisians a penalty and an opportunity to level the tie.

Dembele stepped up and successfully capitalised on the opportunity, sending David Raya the wrong way.

This 1-1 scoreline marked the first Champions League final since 2018 in which both teams found the back of the net; the last time it happened was when Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv.

For the remainder of regulation time, PSG kept much of the ball to their feet, with no clear chances coming from either side.

The tension inside the Puskas Arena was palpable as the referee’s whistle signalled extra time.

Piero Hincapie struggled but could not be substituted, as Arsenal had used all five of their substitutes and one additional substitute in extra time.

Thirty minutes of extra time yielded no separator, and the result was to be decided on a penalty shootout – the 12th time in the history of the competition, the winner was to be decided on penalties.

While Eberechi Eze’s miss from the spot could have given PSG a crucial lead in the shootout, Nuno Mendes’s shot was saved by Raya.

It all came down to the fifth penalty, and all the pressure of the night rested on the shoulders of Gabriel Magalhaes to allow Arsenal to push the shootout into sudden death.

The Brazilian defender struck the ball hard, but hard enough to send the ball miles over the crossbar.

Gabriel dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands while the PSG players sprinted toward their goalkeeper in an explosion of joy.
PSG, Champions of Europe, once again.

Their road to the final was nothing less than extraordinary, defeating the English Champions in the final, and knocking out the German Champions Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Liverpool on the way.

Enrique has transformed the Parisian side from a collection of individual superstars into a cohesive, well-structured and balanced team. The team is full of stars, but not stars.

The team fights, wins and loses together, and their ability to dominate other European giants is a testament to their hard-working mentality.

Something that makes them an unstoppable force in Europe. Entering the final, they carried the aura of champions, looking to do what only Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid had managed before.

For Luis Enrique, it was a moment of personal triumph as well, adding to his 2015 triumph with Barcelona and his first with PSG last year, he has joined the league of elite managers to have put hands on the Holy Grail for a third time.

He has built a dynasty that will be remembered for its attacking brilliance and unyielding mentality.

For Arsenal, the devastation is profound. After the final, Arteta spoke, “Yes, it is very tough to accept when you are so consistent in the competition all the way to the final, and in the end you lose the trophy on penalty kicks, so it is a difficult one.”

Once again, they fell agonisingly short in the final. They proved they belong on this stage, conceding the fewest goals in the competition – only 7.

They remain the team with the most games in the competition’s history without ever winning it.

With what it looks like, the Parisians are joyful again, but not done yet. Their hunger for more titles will be a threat to the rest of the elite teams in Europe.

Who knows, with the passion and charisma they carry, we might see them in the final in Madrid next season.