The Champions League season is now over. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) emerged victorious over Arsenal. They won on penalties, 4-3 (after the match ended 1-1).
There have been numerous talking points post the game. Such include Arsenal's approach to the game and the consequences of the fans who took celebrating the victory out of control.
Arsenalâs players stood there as PSG celebrated. Myles Lewis-Skelly shook his head. Kai Havertz was still in discussions with the referee. Declan Rice and Gabriel applauded, almost forcing themselves to watch as their penance.
Once the trophy lift was done, off they trudged. For Arsenal, this will be fuel, as Mikel Arteta is so fond of putting it. They used their near misses in the Premier League to propel them forwards. Doing the same in the Champions League is the challenge now.
It must be difficult to see it that way, though, because Arsenal were desperately close to the season of all seasons in Budapest. PSG dominated the ball and looked the superior side but when Arteta talked of fine margins, you could appreciate his point.
For the supporters who stayed behind to commiserate with their players long after Gabriel's attempt had cleared the crossbar; it is a familiar feeling of frustration. No team has played more games in the European Cup - 226 - without winning the trophy.
While Arsenal's previous final appearance in Paris two decades ago felt like an ending, this is a little different. Back then, the club had just said farewell to Highbury. It was Robert Pires' last game. Thierry Henry was gone the following year.
This should be just the start for the newly crowned Premier League champions. Key players are in their prime. Others are on their way up. The sense of progress underlined by their Premier League title is echoed by their growing strength in Europe.
Arsenal have gone through a 15-game Champions League season having not lost inside 120 minutes. Two years ago, they exited in the last eight. Last time around, it was the last four. They are edging nearer - to PSG and to the prize. You win or you learn.
PSG manager, Luis Enrique, substituted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and then-Ballon d'Or winner, Ousmane Dembele. In extra-time, off went captain Marquinhos and player of the match, Vitinha. Arsenal appeared to have more strength in depth than their illustrious opponents.
In that context, might the plan have changed? Arteta talked afterwards of PSG being so good that this forced Arsenal to play the game that they did. Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya's decision to kick long throughout was a choice. A more balanced approach was possible.
Arteta knows there are no guarantees that the chance will come again. Valencia reached back-to-back Champions League finals at the start of the century. The last team to lose a Champions League final on penalties was Atletico Madrid a decade ago.
Of course, Arsenal need not look far for inspiration. It was not so long ago that PSG were seen as the club that couldn't get over the line. Now it is they who will not relinquish this trophy and there is talk of dynasties and domination under the peerless Luis Enrique.
As his players take the adulation back in north London, the encouragement for Arteta and for the Arsenal supporters is that the journey is not over. The looks on the faces as PSG's players cavorted in front of them revealed that much. The hunger remains.
It must be difficult to see it that way, though, because Arsenal were desperately close to the season of all seasons in Budapest. PSG dominated the ball and looked the superior side but when Arteta talked of fine margins, you could appreciate his point.
For long periods, it was a defensive masterclass. Seldom have PSG been made to look so toothless as in a first half in which Arsenal had the two best chances. Luis Enrique's side had 76% of the possession but scored none of the goals.
Thereafter, it was about penalties granted and denied, scored and missed. David Raya produced the only save of the shoot-out and still finished it slumped with his head in his hands. Arsenal beaten by the odd goal in seven. They pushed a great side to the limit.
PSG held their nerve in a cagey Champions League â final to retain the title by beating â Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as Saturdayâs nail-biting showdown ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French sideâs status among Europeâs modern greats.
Long dismissed as glamorous underachievers despite vast resources, the Ligue 1 champions have now forged a dynasty under Luis Enrique, marrying attacking brilliance with resilience to establish themselves as the dominant force in European football.
"Itâs stronger than last year because we knew before the match just how difficult it would be to play against Arsenal," said Enrique, whose side had â thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 a year ago to claim Europeâs elite trophy for the first time.
"As a club and a city, itâs incredible to win, and I think we deserved it over the course of the season. The final was a real battle," added the Spanish coach.
The outcome left Arsenal midfielder, Declan Rice, devastated but proud as his side finished their European campaign without losing a match, aside from the shootout defeat in the final.
"Itâs gutting. Itâs devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties," he said. "But we try to take a lot of perspective from how far weâve come as a group".
"An incredible season. âGiven it absolutely everything up until this point. We took the game to penalties. Itâs a lottery."
Arsenal defender, Gabriel, blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonovâs crossbar at the Puskas Arena in Budapest; his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their â three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.
Eleven days after celebrating their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal looked set for a maiden triumph on Europeâs biggest stage after Kai Havertzâs sixth-minute opener and a first hour spent smothering PSGâs vaunted attack.
However, the final in the Hungarian capital became chaotic, once PSGâs Ousmane Dembele equalised with a penalty in the 65th minute; the pace turning frantic before exhaustion took the match to a shootout.
Under Enrique, PSG have won the six shootouts they have contested, with the 56-year-old winning 12 of the 13 one-off club finals as coach.
After brushing aside Premier League opposition on their way to the final by eliminating Chelsea and Liverpool, PSG were facing a much sterner test against an Arsenal team playing their second Champions League final after losing to Barcelona in 2006.
Mikel Artetaâs side took the â lead when Marquinhosâ clearance bounced off Arsenalâs Leandro Trossard into the path of Havertz, who raced into the box and fired into the roof of â the net.
He is the fourth player to score in two different European Cup or Champions League finals with two different clubs. It was the nightmare scenario for PSG â trailing so early against the best defence in the competition.
Arsenal lived up to their reputation as the best team without the ball and looked perfectly content with the script; doubling up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and suffocating the usual danger posed by the Georgian magician on the left flank.
PSGâs Fabian Ruiz was â unable to impose his usual rhythm in midfield and, despite monopolising possession for long spells, the French side struggled to carve out clear-cut chances.
By half-time, PSG had attacked 32 times; Arsenal three.
Arsenal, however, were flirting with the boundaries with their challenges and Cristhian Mosquera brought down Kvaratskhelia in â the area, with Dembele converting the penalty to equalise with his eighth goal in the competition.
The momentum had shifted.
Jurrien â Timber and Viktor Gyokeres replaced Mosquera and Martin Odegaard. Arsenal had a more attacking mindset but were exposed to PSGâs counter attacks and at the end of one of them, Kvaratskhelia sped into the box; only for his left-footed effort to crash onto the outside of David Rayaâs post.
After controlling the tempo in the first half, Arsenal played into PSGâs hands as the pace increased significantly, giving too much space to Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola, who replaced the Georgian winger with âseven minutes remaining.
In the 89th minute, PSG came close to giving the final an abrupt end as Vitinhaâs shot grazed the top of the net. Barcola also shot over the bar after a counter attack, with what would've been the last kick of the game.
With both teams having run out of steam, extra time was a cautious affair and when referee, Daniel Siebert, blew his âwhistle; âArsenal had only managed one shot on target.
Arsenalâs Eberechi Eze missed his penalty before Raya saved Nuno Mendesâ attempt. Gabriel had to score to keep the Gunnersâ hopes alive but, facing PSGâs end, he fired over.
The French side were left to celebrate being European champions once again, with extra-time substitute Lucas Beraldoâs goal in the shootout proving to be the winner.
Former French forward, Christophe Dugarry, has launched a scathing attack on Mikel Arteta's Arsenal following their heartbreaking Champions League final defeat to PSG. The World Cup winner labelled the Premier League champions "a bunch of clowns" for employing an ultra-defensive strategy, accusing the Londoners of arriving in Budapest with an "inflated ego."
Speaking on RMC Sportâs Rothen Sâenflamme programme, Dugarry unleashed a furious rant regarding their defensive display. "We saw clearances, an Arsenal team that systematically tried to waste time. It was simply unbearable, intolerable," he fumed. "And what almost proved terrible for football and the people who love it is that they almost gave the illusion that by creating and doing so little, you can win the Champions League."
The 1998 World Cup winner didn't hold back in his assessment of Arteta and his squad, brutally tearing into their mentality and perceived arrogance. Dugarry felt the Gunners betrayed their own history with such a negative approach on Europe's biggest stage.
"Theyâre a bunch of clowns," Dugarry added. "They arrived with an inflated ego, with Arteta saying, 'Weâre going to beat them'⊠Iâm so glad Arsenal got the short end of the stick, and I hope that if they ever want to win it, theyâll start playing football. This isnât Arsenal! This club has a history, theyâre the Gunners, thereâs a legacy, a style of football. They canât play like that, itâs impossible."
It was not just Dugarry who was left bewildered by the conservative tactics employed by the Premier League winners. Former Chelsea midfielder, Craig Burley, also criticised the game plan via ESPN, pointing out how strange it was for a top team to abandon their progressive style after grabbing such an early advantage.
"Letâs lay it out on the table, when they scored after six minutes, they tried to defend their way to the 90th minute," Burley noted. "Had it been PSG who scored after six minutes, they would have carried on attacking and probing and trying to win the game. And thatâs the contrast in how these two teams approach, not only the final, but approach football."
Hundreds of people have been arrested after the celebration of PSG fans descended into carnage following their teamâs Champions League final victory.
In a repeat of similar chaotic scenes seen following PSG victories, Paris saw clashes between rioters and police, shops attacked and fireworks fired into the crowd during the celebrations.
Two people died during celebrations when PSG won the trophy last year, but officials said they were more prepared to deal with the crowds this year.Large crowds were seen around the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in the early hours of Sunday, and several fires were lit.
At least two businesses, six vehicles and a bus shelter were damaged, police said. In an update, officers said 416 people had been arrested, with 280 of them arrested in Paris.
In footage shared on social media, PSG fans were shown running away from police near the Parc des Princes stadium. Reports claim fans aimed fireworks at police officers, who used tear gas in response.
Videos shared online showed carnage across the capital when both Arsenal and PSG scored, with terrifying bangs being heard. It comes after a number of people were arrested in Budapest following clashes between Arsenal and PSG fans ahead of the final.
The worst trouble was in the Chùtelet area of the city, between Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre museum. Tear gas and baton charges were used against crowds who had gathered to watch the game on TV screens outside bars and cafés in sweltering heat on Saturday afternoon.
"The trouble started as soon as Arsenal went one-nil up," said an onlooker. "Chairs and bottles were thrown at the police, who then moved in to make arrests."
Some PSG fans managed to climb up scaffolding on a building close to the Rue de Rivoli â one of the main shopping streets in the French capital â leading to further trouble as officers tried to get them down.
There were further skirmishes later, as some cafés turned off their televisions. By the end of the game, 39 arrests had been made, with some 1 600 people stopped and searched by the police.
Rioting broke out in Paris and in other parts of France, as hooded youths fought running battles with riot police. The worst incident took place close to the Champs Elysée when a car ploughed into a group of fans.
Weapons and fireworks were among the items confiscated by officers. There were some 5000 police and gendarmes on the streets of Paris to deal with the crowds gathering to watch the Budapest final.
Football violence is becoming an increasing problem across France. Some 43 people were arrested when PSG beat Arsenal to reach the European Champions League football final a year ago.
While many Paris fans have travelled to Hungary this year, tens of thousands more remained on the streets of the French capital.
I am very critical of Arsenal's performance. They rely heavily on their defence. They are more than happy to 'park the bus' when they take a mere 1-0 lead. That's not the way to play. They should've gone and tried to score more goals. As it was seen, a 1-0 margin wasn't the best decision to take it easy (attack wise). I believe they took their league tactics to the Champions League.
In terms of the fans, that was unacceptable. Violence is never the right way to celebrate. There are other ways to do so. Causing trouble when the public is at risk brings about a huge amount of liabilities if disturbances are created.