Last Sunday, 22 years of hurt ended for Arsenal. They lifted the Premier League title at Selhurst Park in what was undoubtedly the high point of Mikel Arteta's tenure as manager of this great club.
Yet, six days later, it marked perhaps the most heartbreaking moment of his six and half year spell at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners travelled to Budapest, Hungary, for this season's Champions League final, 20 years on from their last appearance in the showpiece event of this competition. However, it was more pain for Arsenal, meeting their match in the form of PSG. The Parisian's won on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 following normal time and extra time.
Declan-Rice
It was an almighty effort from the boys in red and white but sadly for Arteta and his players, they couldn't get over the line. Up to this point, they had been unbeaten in this competition. They had not lost in Europe since they last met PSG in last campaign's semi-finals.
So, how did it all play out?
How Arsenal lost the Champions League final
A year ago, PSG won the Champions League final 5-0 against Inter Milan. It was a devastating performance from Luis Enrique's men who lifted the biggest trophy in club football for the first time in their history.
A year later, it was a very different game of football, it always was going to be. Arsenal do not allow their opposition many chances to score and that was the case in Budapest on Saturday night.
Kai-Havertz
This was never going to be a frantic affair but even so, very few expected the Gunners to open the scoring. They shocked PSG after just six minutes when Kai Havertz found the net, marking his second Champions League final goal after bagging for Chelsea in 2021.
He is the man of the big occasion, so it would seem, and this goal was a thing of beauty. He ran onto the ball in behind, raced towards goal and then instead of looking for a pass, hammered the ball home at the near post.
Truth be told, Arsenal did not create very much beyond that. PSG were the better side in possession but the Londoners defended valiantly, rarely allowing the French champions to have a shot on goal.
The Gunners had not looked in any trouble whatsoever until the big momentum shifter just after the hour mark.
Cristhian Mosquera had played incredibly well at right-back in the absence of Ben White and Jurrien Timber for the first 60 minutes of the match. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been one of the best players in Europe this season but the Spanish full-back was largely untroubled. That was, however, until he brought down Kvaratskhelia for the penalty.
A tangle of legs led to the referee pointing to the penalty spot with Ousmane Dembele stepping up and sending David Raya the wrong way.
From that moment, neither side truly looked like winning the game. 90 minutes came and went, as did extra-time without finding a winner. The lottery of penalties ended up deciding matters.
Rice-Gabriel-Arsenal
Nuno Mendes saw hit spotkick saved but Eberechi Eze and then Gabriel Magalhes both fired wide and then high as PSG lifted the Champions League for a successive year.
The two penalty villains will undoubtedly be on the back pages in the morning but they were not the only culprits in Hungary.
Arsenal need an upgrade on £64m star
Before the teamsheet was released it felt like you could have named nine or ten of the starters with ease. However, the biggest decision Arteta had to make was at the top of the team.
It was that man Havertz who was selected to start over Viktor Gyokeres and when he opened the scoring early on, it looked an inspired decision.
Havertz-Odegaard-Hincapie-Arsenal
The German was certainly one of the best players on the pitch and delivered a phenomenal performance leading the line. It was much better than Gyokeres'.
In all honesty, it was not a huge surprise the see him benched for this one. In the big games, such as Manchester City away, Havertz has been preferred by Arteta.
Arsenal ratings vs PSG
David Raya - 7/10
Cristhian Mosquera - 5/10
William Saliba - 8/10
Gabriel Magalhaes - 6/10
Piero Hincapie - 8/10
Declan Rice - 7/10
Myles Lewis-Skelly - 7/10
Bukayo Saka - 5/10
Martin Odegaard - 5/10
Leandro Trossard - 5/10
Kai Havertz - 7/10
The display from the big Swede when he came on showed precisely why. Gyokeres is easily one of the most polarising figures in Arsenal history. He ended the season with 21 goals to his name; no one came close to topping him as the club's top scorer in 2025/26.
Yet, while no one can criticise his ability to find the net, you can criticise his overall play.
Towards the back end of the season, it looked as though the £64m signing had finally improved in this regard. His performance in the second leg of the semi-final against Atletico Madrid was first-class. He ran the channels all night long and held the ball up phenomenally well.
Gyokeres-Arsenal
Those two areas have been the biggest weaknesses in the striker's game and that was abundtantly clear on Saturday night. He failed to replicate anything close to the level of performance against Diego Simeone's side.
Substituted on in place of skipper Martin Odegaard just after the equalising goal, Gyokeres did nothing of note besides fizz a deflected effort wide with just minutes left of extra-time.
The Sweden international did score his penalty in the shoot-out but besides that, very little went right. While the ball often stuck to Havertz when it came to him, it did not stick to his colleague in attack.
Gyokeres-Arsenal-Champions-League-final
Gyokeres had 20 touches of the ball but lost it on ten occasions. He completed just six of his 12 passes and only won four of his 12 duels.
What Arsenal needed in the final half an hour of normal time, plus in extra time, was someone capable of grabbing the ball in the final third and relieving the constant pressure PSG were applying. He failed to do that.
The reason the Gunners lost was not because of Gyokeres but he really didn't make his teammate's lives and easier. Several reports in recent weeks have suggested the club are interested in Atletico's Julian Alvarez and if a deal could be done there, it makes a lot of sense to throw a lot of money in the direction of the Spanish giants.
The big-money signing of last summer helped Arsenal to end their Premier League hoodoo but there is definitely room for improvement. His performance in the Hungarian capital this weekend was all the evidence you need.
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