Arsenal lost on penalties against PSG in the Champions League final, a title they have been chasing for so long and still desire to have in their trophy cabinet. Tied 1-1 on aggregate and with missed penalties from Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes, it was not possible to achieve it, which is why their teammate Declan Rice sends a message of support.
Following the match, Declan Rice had a message for his teammates: “It’s a lottery. Some of the best teams ever have lost on penalties in finals, and we were on the receiving end.” Rice added. “We gave absolutely everything… we win together, and we lose together,” Declan Rice affirmed. And, for good reason, not becoming champions without losing a match must be incredibly tough.
He also demonstrated why he is the captain of this great team led by Mikel Arteta, showing his support to everyone and not letting anyone down, ensuring that everything they achieved this season would have been possible. “I’m so proud of the boys. We will be back. We love them and we are with them. Without them, we wouldn’t have won the Premier League. We have to be proud.”
“Gabriel, I have run out of words for him as a player and with Eze, he’s got crucial goals for us this season. It’s cruel, but we’ll take the positives and keep going.” Rice concluded.
Gabriel of Arsenal
The devastating penalty shootout
Here, two sides exist: the one that wins and emerges successful from that penalty shootout, and the one that loses it with players who missed their respective spot kicks, which is the case for Gabriel Magalhaes and Eberechi Eze, who, despite being key pieces in the team, could receive a lot of blame from the fans. And also be runner-up after finishing as unbeaten runners-up.
Gabriel Magalhaes shot the last of his team’s penalties over the bar to hand PSG a 4-3 shootout victory. Eberechi Eze also missed an earlier spot kick, but David Raya saved from Nuno Mendes to let Arsenal stay level.
Lucas Beraldo scored the last of PSG’s spot kicks, meaning Arsenal‘s defender had to convert to take it to sudden death, but he missed to spark celebrations from PSG players and fans inside Puskas Arena.
The other side of the coin
PSG, on the other hand, consecrate themselves as back-to-back champions of the competition, a club that chased it for so many years and struggled for years to get over the line in the Champions League despite huge investment from their Qatari owners.
But they have flipped the script under Luis Enrique to become only the second side in the Champions League era to defend the trophy. And without star names from the start, we consider them as such now entirely because of the development given to them by Luis Enrique, such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, and even Ousmane Dembele himself, who is currently having his prime.
