Arsenal suffer Champions League final shootout heartbreak after penalty controversy

Arsenal 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain (Havertz 6’ | Dembele pen 65’) – PSG win 4-3 on penalties

BUDAPEST – Heroes, but not history-makers. Not this time – only heartbreak after Gabriel’s decisive miss in an agonising shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. They came as one red army knowing that whatever happened, they would be plated in the silverware and surreal euphoria of the last fortnight. Highbury will still run red tomorrow but Hungary was one world too far for Arsenal to conquer.

After a delirious 11 days, this was only ever meant to be a bonus. It took more than an hour for the desperation which had once proven the downfall of the English champions to sink in. The moment that changed everything, Cristhian Mosquera’s tangle of limbs with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before Ousmane Dembele’s penalty, felt avoidable but fatalistic. The moment that might have changed even more, Noni Madueke’s own spot-kick appeal, always felt a stretch as a red-faced Declan Rice screamed himself blue.

With the rush of every Gabriel clearance and Myles Lewis-Skelly interception, they had been allowed to dream of Arteta-balling their way to glory. Perhaps there is an alternate version of history where they took Kai Havertz’s early strike and turned the screw. For so long they invited pressure from the most fluid team in Europe, led by the world’s best knockout coach, and for so long, it felt a plausible strategy.

There had even been the dose of good fortune which has so often evaded them when it matters. Inside six minutes, Marquinhos’ clearance had bounced awkwardly off Leandro Trossard, enough to dupe Pacho into leaving Havertz free to gallop at Matvey Safonov’s goal. Safonov, who only usurped Lucas Chevalier as PSG No 1 at the turn of the year, made no attempt to close him down and watched the ball lash into the roof of his net.

Enrique must have war-gamed what Arsenal would do if they took an early lead. It is easy to say now that all this was inevitable, but for almost 60 minutes Arsenal could not have dreamt of it working as well as it did, letting PSG drop off and never allowing their runners in behind. With Nuno Mendes cutting inside the three prongs of Kvaratskhelia, Dembele and Desire Doue pressed and pressed. Just as the Parisians had been on the banks of the Danube and in the parks of Varosliget, they were swallowed in a sea of red.

In their thousands, the reigning champions had kicked off with a giant tifo featuring two muscular biceps clasped around the Champions League trophy. They will hold onto it even tighter now. For now, Arteta will remain in the shadows of his old friend and mentor Enrique.

His two biggest decisions were always going to prove a masterstroke or a misjudgement – no in between. First, in reining in his most cavalier urges and choosing the more conservative options: Piero Hincapie ahead of Riccardo Calafiori, Mosquera over Jurrian Timber. Arteta spent as much time directing Bukayo Saka to ensure he was helping to cover the latter as he did urging him on. Mosquera had played his part until finally being undone by the 1-2 – he was lucky to avoid a second yellow before being taken off.

And just as crucially, in recognising Havertz as the man for the big moments, when it has so often been Viktor Gyokeres in this competition all season. That one certainly paid off.

By full-time, a hazy evening sun had descended, drying out the rain that had begun to trickle around noon. It only added to the frenzy in a rejoicing PSG section full of billowing smoke, ablaze with pyros and requiring its own line of guards by the end. At the other of the Puskas, the ground named after Hungary’s great visionary of the 1950s, Arsenal’s supporters serenaded a group of players who have already spun their own legends. More than a few were still spitting their fury at Noni Madueke’s failed penalty appeal. For now, they will remain among Europe’s aspirational middle classes.

It was that sinking feeling they thought was behind them. Runners-up. Second. And yet it was precisely that familiar feeling of Arsenal’s ever bridesmaids which spurred them on to a first title in 22 years. Arteta will have them believing that they will be back.