Arsenal 1-1 PSG (PSG win 4-3 on penalties) 
Champions League final report 
by Layth Yousif 
at the Puskas Arena

THERE was heartbreak in Hungary after Gabriel Magalhaes and Eberechi Eze agonisingly missed their spot-kicks, as PSG beat Arsenal 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time on a hot, cruel evening in Budapest on Saturday.

Luis Enrique’s side won their second successive Champions League after the Gunners were once again denied their first coveted European crown in front of 61,035 on a fevered night at the Puskas Arena.

Arsenal’s defensive lynchpin showed character and courage when the 28-year-old Brazil centre-back stepped up to take what proved to be his team’s final spot-kick.

Alas, for Gooners everywhere, including the boisterously carousing but impeccably behaved 20,000 fans in red and white who travelled to this beguiling city, Gabriel blasted his effort over Matvey Safonov’s bar to form the defining image of this hard-fought final, when PSG’s Brazilian compatriot Marquinhos consoled the stunned Gunners man in the aftermath of the French champions’ victory.

Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta said: “He wanted to take it,” adding: “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.”

When the Basque-born boss was asked how he felt in the midst of defeat after the match, Arteta replied: “Pain — that’s it. When you are so close in the competition and today you are a few penalty kicks away from winning the biggest club football competition, that’s the way we should feel.”

Earlier, Kai Havertz had sent Arsenal into dreamland when he scored in the sixth minute to put the Gunners 1-0 ahead.

Havertz’s emphatic near-post finish past Safonov into the roof of the net, after a driving run completed with a flawless technique, following Leandro Trossard’s through ball from the halfway line, saw the former Chelsea striker become only the fourth player to score in the showpiece final for more than one club. 

The 26-year-old joined by Velibor Vasovic (Partizan Belgrade, 1966, and Ajax (1969), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United 2008, and Real Madrid 2014, 2017) and Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich 2013, and Juventus 2017).

The hordes of travelling Arsenal fans erupted in deep joy, after having barely time to settle following a powerfully moving rendition of the club’s rousing anthem Angel before the kick-off. North London Forever bellowing out shortly before a red and white tifo bearing the title of the chorus had been unveiled. The incessant noise and spectacle adding to the drama of what was to unfold.

With American band The Killers playing an entertaining set as the Puskas pitch was manically transformed shortly before the start — even if the acoustics were understandably more suited to a football crowd than a rock concert — the scene was set for the 2026 Champions League final after a convivial day in Hungary’s welcomingly handsome capital on the Danube for both sets of fans, who mingled peacefully throughout.

In a tight first half, Arteta’s side defended valiantly against waves upon waves of attacks from the dangerous Ligue 1 winners, the Gunners’ obdurate backline repelling a series of PSG forays to reach the break ahead.

However, just as the thoughts of Gooners everywhere started to dream about the prospect of a longed-for first Champions League trophy, 20 years on from the club’s defeat to Barcelona in Paris in their only other final, Cristhian Mosquera brought down the lively Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, leaving referee Daniel Siebert no choice but to award a penalty.

Ousmane Dembele stepped up to send David Raya the wrong way to level the scores at 1-1 in the 65th minute, as the PSG ultras behind the goal unleashed bright red pyro amid a cacophony of noise. There is no reason why the 2025 Ballon d’or winner cannot lift the bauble this year, too.

With Ben White out injured, Arteta hooked Mosquera for Jurrien Timber moments later, also switching captain Martin Odegaard for Viktor Gyokeres, prior to also swapping Bukayo Saka and Trossard for Noni Madueke and Gabi Martinelli, as the game headed into extra time.

As the first half of extra time ticked down, there was controversy when Siebert handed an incandescent Arteta a yellow after the official turned down a penalty appeal, after Madueke was brought down in the box by Nuno Mendes, with Declan Rice also booked, as the entire Gunners bench leapt up in rage.

As we moved towards the cruel denouement, the magnificent travelling Arsenal support sang their hearts out trying to rouse Arteta’s side for one last push inside the stadium. From Bilbao and Prague to Bruges and Milan, Leverkusen, Lisbon and Madrid the club’s travelling support have been superb throughout the entire 2025-26 Champions League campaign.

The maelstrom of relentless noise continued with the incessant beat of the PSG’s ultras drums that formed the soundtrack to this compelling final, as we ticked down towards the dreaded penalty shootout to decide the winner.

There was time for Arteta to give his troops a rousing speech, the entire squad, coaches, and support staff linking arms, fittingly shaped like a heart – at least from the view high up in the media tribune – before the spot-kick drama played out.

There was an early advantage for PSG when Eze steered his penalty wide after a stuttering run-up. Prior to Gunners keeper David Raya giving Arsenal hope when saving Nuno Mendes’ effort.

But, after four successful kicks, Gabriel’s suffered the brutal vagaries of football, when he blasted his penalty over the crossbar, and into the midst of the PSG ultras to ensure PSG won their second Champions League trophy in succession.

“To miss a penalty in a Champions League final, obviously it’s not nice,” Arsenal midfielder Rice said in support of his stricken teammates after the match, adding: “But we love them and we’re with them. It happens in football. They’re not going to be the last players to miss penalties in finals.

“Everyone has missed a penalty and without those two this season we wouldn’t have won the Premier League, that’s for sure.

“Gabriel, I’ve run out of words for him as a person and as a player. Eze has scored some crucial goals for us this season.

“It happens. It’s football and it’s cruel. We take the positives and keep going.”

While the fact that Arteta’s side remained unbeaten in all 15 of their games over 90 minutes across ten long months in this tournament was scant consolation, with yesterday’s parade in North London set to attract hundreds of thousands of Arsenal fans intent on celebrating the club’s first Premier League title in 22 long years, there is still plenty to be thankful for.

Even if Arsenal’s long wait for a first Champions League trophy continues, after an anguished evening in Budapest.