What a relief as PSG defeat woeful anti-football Arsenal in Champions League finale
· Yahoo Sports
PSG defeated Arsenal in the Champions League final and everybody who loves football breathed a huge sigh of relief.
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The game started in the worst possible way as a lucky deflection set Havertz away and he did really well to run from the halfway line and score in the 6th minute.
Arsenal were always going to try and win this with an anti-football approach and taking that early lead simply made this so much worse.
Anybody hoping to see a great final, it was like a dagger in the heart.
The match became simply (VERY deep) defence against an attacking side who found zero space to play in when they got to the final third.
It was as though a Burnley or Wolves had somehow found themselves in the Champions League final, not the Premier League champions and one of the most expensively assembled squads ever seen.
In the latest Deloitte football rich list, the 2026 report (covering the 2024/25 season) had Arsenal less than £15m behind PSG for revenues. When the 2027 report covering this 2025/26 season is eventually published, Arsenal will almost for sure have overtaken PSG in terms of generating revenues.
Yet Mikel Arteta has Arsenal playing like underdogs from a lower league.
Saturday became such a tedious and frustrating first half in the Champions League final, Arsenal not even trying to get out of their own half and PSG struggling to get anywhere near Raya’s goal. You really couldn’t see anything other than Arsenal boring their way to the trophy at this point. Indeed, their time wasting had been shocking from the point they scored after six minutes and the referee refusing to book any of Arteta’s players.
The second half started with more of the same, Arsenal only interested in defending and PSG struggling to find a way through. The French side began to look a little more threatening but only marginally so, until thankfully the moment came. Mosquera bringing down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the box and Ousmane Dembele scoring the resulting penalty. The only negative was the referee bottling it when not sending the Arsenal defender off, he had already been booked at last for yet again taking forever with a throw-in.
The next half an hour or so at last saw a proper match, Arsenal having to at least come out of their ultra defensive shell to some extent and PSG should have won it as they outclassed the Gunners now it was a game of football. Vitinha just off target and Kvaratskhelia hitting the post late on.
Extra time and PSG the only team trying to win it other than 198os Wimbledon-style Arsenal solely relying on very occasional corners and long throws. Penalties it was to be though.
The fourth penalty to be taken was missed by Eberechi Eze but then Nuno Mendes saw his saved. All other penalties successful until Gabriel went up to take the tenth, the Arsenal defender deliciously sending his spot-kick sailing well over the bar and a huge relief for everybody who loves football.
Arsenal (Arteta pictured above after picking up his losers medal) had less than 25% possession across the match, the only stats they won on were the Gunners committing more fouls and getting more yellow cards.
In more than two hours of football after that sixth minute goal, Arsenal didn’t have a single shot on target.
Safonov in the PSG goal didn’t make a save in the entire match, including the penalty shootout!
It was bad enough Arsenal won the Premier League with their dire style of anti-football, at least justice finally done though in the Champions League final. They have still never found a way to beat Newcastle United, the only English club they can’t manage to win against, but PSG once again champions of Europe.