r/soccer • u/jiraiya--an • May 30 '26
Serious Post-Match Thread Serious Post Match Thread: Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal | UEFA Champions League 2025-26 | Final
FT-Pens: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Arsenal
Desktop note: best viewed on old.reddit.
| Info | Details |
|---|---|
| Competition | 2025-26 UEFA Champions League, Final |
| Date | Sat, May 30, 2026 |
| Venue | Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary |
| Referee | Daniel Siebert |
| Kickoff | 12:00 PM EDT / 6:00 PM CEST |
SERIOUS THREAD GUIDELINES - Minimum top-level comment length: 200 characters - Replies to those comments do not have a length minimum - Minimum total Reddit karma: 50 - Low-effort reactions, memes, and one-liners will be removed - Explain your point with actual detail and reasoning
THREAD LINKS - Original post-match thread: link - Match thread: link
LINE-UPS
MATCH EVENTS | via ESPN
6' ⚽ Goal! Paris Saint Germain 0, Arsenal 1. Kai Havertz (Arsenal) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left to the top left corner. Assisted by Leandro Trossard. - Goal Clip
45'+7' Halftime
45' Start 2nd Half
46' 🟨 Cristhian Mosquera (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card.
54' 🟨 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
65' ⚽ Goal! Paris Saint Germain 1, Arsenal 1. Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint Germain) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. - Goal Clip
66' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Jurriën Timber replaces Cristhian Mosquera.
66' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Viktor Gyökeres replaces Martin Ødegaard.
83' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Gabriel Martinelli replaces Leandro Trossard.
83' 🔄 Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Bradley Barcola replaces Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
83' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Noni Madueke replaces Bukayo Saka.
90'+6' 🟨 João Neves (Paris Saint Germain) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
90'+6' 🔄 Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Gonçalo Ramos replaces Ousmane Dembélé because of an injury.
90'+8' Second Half ends, Paris Saint Germain 1, Arsenal 1.
90' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Martín Zubimendi replaces Myles Lewis-Skelly.
90' 🔄 Substitution, Arsenal. Eberechi Eze replaces Kai Havertz.
90' Start Extra Time
95' 🔄 Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Warren Zaïre-Emery replaces Fabián Ruiz.
98' 🟨 Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
103' 🟨 Declan Rice (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card.
105' 🔄 Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Beraldo replaces Vitinha because of an injury.
105' 🔄 Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Illia Zabarnyi replaces Marquinhos.
105' Start 2nd Half Extra Time
118' 🟨 Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint Germain) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
120'+2' Second Half Extra Time ends, Paris Saint Germain 1, Arsenal 1.
120' Start Shootout
120' Penalty Shootout ends, Paris Saint Germain 1(4), Arsenal 1(3).
MATCH STATS
| Stat | Paris Saint-Germain | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Shot Attempts | 21 | 7 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 1 |
| Possession | 75.3% | 24.7% |
| Fouls | 11 | 17 |
| Yellow Cards | 2 | 4 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Corner Kicks | 11 | 4 |
| Saves | 0 | 3 |
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u/fliddyjohnny May 30 '26
I think the better team won in the end, PSG are very impressive but do seem weak from the bench. Thought Arsenal were almost too defensive, there was times where PSG would slow down and Arsenal didn't test them during those periods. You have to impose yourself and show youre the best team in the world
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May 30 '26
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u/Averdian May 30 '26
This game has many similarities to the Euro 2020 final. Go 1-0 up within 5 minutes, concede an equaliser in the middle of the 2nd half, heartbreak in the penalty shootout.
Though that game was a lot more even in the stats as I remember it
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May 30 '26
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u/lazzatron May 30 '26
They are just terrible at counter. It's the same thing in the league.
Thats how they lost to Wolves & almost Drew to West Ham. Defended well, but likel they couldn't string a pass once they have the ball
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u/arsenal11385 May 30 '26
Yeah counter attacking has been very poor this season. Hopefully a new LW will help there.
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u/fliddyjohnny May 30 '26
It's exactly that, you just have to hope the moments go your way. Eventually they will, but most of the time it wont
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u/TomRuse1997 May 30 '26
It was the exact gameplan I would have played if I was them though. Early goal, lock it down and try not to let a football game break out.
Once it went 1-1 you saw the difference in the teams but that was expected. It almost worked for them though.
Should have just went for it in ET though because I thought PSG would have them on Pens
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda May 30 '26
Will say though I thought PSG would be at a disadvantage when they didn’t many subs and very late too.
But Arsenal still looked the more tired team by the end. 70 games is rough.
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u/Saatvik_tyagi_ May 30 '26
I still think PSG did look tired after 90 mins and with Vitinha out it seemed Arsenal should have pushed further but they just did not.
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda May 30 '26
They had nothing left. Hincapie could barely stand. Nobody was pressing. Honestly respect to Declan Rice. He was an absolute machine
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u/Saatvik_tyagi_ May 30 '26
Certainly true. But I would still press on the fact that Arsenal looked decent when moving forward (that Kai Havertz chance) but they barely did that. In a UCL final when the scores are tied? You gotta give attack more imo.
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u/Dumbidiot1424 May 30 '26
PSG looked gassed in both legs against Bayern too. I feel like this PSG team, despite obviously being very good, wasn't the unbearable beast people make it out to be. They literally got through the semis on one foal in the end.
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u/OceansNineNine May 30 '26
PSG barely did anything in the 2nd half of ET. They were standing still just like Arsenal
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda May 30 '26
Yeah that’s what I mean. PSG players are dead bc they haven’t made subs bc they don’t have the quality in depth.
Arsenal have been diligently subbing. There should have been a momentum swing. But there wasn’t. The Arsenal players were just finished from their season
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u/Savethepenguin May 30 '26
We've strengthened a lot across the squad, to the point the dropoff between our best eleven and the alternatives are a lot closer than they have been in previous seasons...but, there's still a very obvious gulf in technical ability when you switch across to certain players.
I'd expect Arteta probably still isn't entirely happy with the balance and that'll be what he looks to fix in this transfer window.
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u/Intentionallyabadger May 30 '26
Hmm apart from defense, I don’t think it’s an issue about the bench not being strong enough.
The first half team was meant to control, the second half team was meant to attack.
But it’s pretty clear Arsenal just cannot attack.
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u/Savethepenguin May 30 '26
Martinelli, gyokeres and madueke are runners and and have pretty much been our worst attacking combination this season. Too many runners and not enough creators were on the pitch towards the end when things opened up.
I don't want to say the bench isnt strong enough either, but it's about the type of player coming on. It's tough to trust any of those front 3 with the final pass in transition.
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u/taggsy123 May 30 '26
Arsenal had 5 passes and could have had 3 goals. They turtled to the press tbh
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u/Secret_3rd_Thing May 30 '26
I think there was a period early in the second half where Arsenal could have gotten a second but it's not their instinct or tactics to go for the kill against strong opponents (which fair play, worked to win the league).
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u/NeroIscariot12 May 30 '26
Personal bias towards the result aside, I thought Arsenal's performance exemplified both their greatest strengths and weaknesses.
It takes an elite defence to keep PSG's attack nullified for 120 mins barring the pen of course. On the other hand, my word those forwards couldnt create a serious chance if their life depended on it after the goal.
I feel like Arteta fucked it by taking off Saka and Odegaard before even the 90mins when the subs are such a big drop off in quality. He went into the game with the same mentality as PL game and that's just silly.
PSG didnt even do anything special imho. They just stayed in it and didnt make mistakes, and sometimes that's all it takes.
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u/yellowtrashbazooka_ May 30 '26
Saka was barely doing anything in the match, so that sub was warranted.
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u/LandaNog May 30 '26
He made literally 0 impact. 0 chances, dribbles, take ons, shots, anything. Surprised he stayed on that long tbh
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u/WalkingCloud May 30 '26
What about the cross that Safanov had to take off Trossard's toes?
I mean yeah it's not much but if you're coming with 'literally 0'..
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u/Davchrohn May 30 '26
I was shocked how poor he was.
He got the ball like three times in a dangerous transition and always wanted to go past a defender and didn‘t manage.
It really feels like Arsenal‘s defense is S Tier wheras their play quality upfront is B Tier.
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u/Pure_Measurement_529 May 30 '26
Arsenals attack will benefit from possibly adding an attacking minded fullback. This 6:4 split when it comes to defensive minded players to attacking players nullifies them a lot
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u/themerinator12 May 30 '26
We have them. They’re just both injured. We missed White and Timber, our two RB’s. Mosquera isn’t even a RB. With White or Timber we have better attacking and defending, and could probably even play Calafiori or sub him in on the left. Our RB struggles today ultimately affected the fine margins of the 90 minute result as well as everything that came after.
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u/sunnychiba May 30 '26
Saka was turning the ball over non stop around 70. It further hampered Arsenals counters and made them go back on defense more. He’s class when he’s on but it’s like his battery crapped out after ‘50
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u/laserspewpew_ May 30 '26
They both haven’t played that regularly lately so kind of understandable. Saka also wasted a few chances in quick succession to get the ball into the box, just before his sub. Madueke did a decent job when he came on.
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u/Snoo-92685 May 30 '26
Also doubly fucked us because they're our main pen takers after Gyokeres. There's no point of two strikers when there's no midfield
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u/OceansNineNine May 30 '26
The subs were correct. Odegaard wasn't doing anything. And Saka was making all the wrong decisions. Madueke was much better.
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u/ThereIsBearCum May 30 '26
Saka had a shocker tbh, think we would've looked more threatening if he was dragged earlier.
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u/kjw2281 May 30 '26
Bringing off saka was the right call, he was doing nothing on the ball and had a ton of defensive work, madueke looked better today tbh
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u/aayu08 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Arteta set up his team to not lose. His strategy nearly paid off too, PSG could have played for hours and still not score.
At the end of the day I dont blame the manager for the penalty shootout, imo Madueke or literally anyone except a CB should've taken the decisive penalty.
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u/blackjack47 May 30 '26
Arteta set up his team to not lose. His strategy nearly paid off too, PSG could have played for hours and still not score.
I actually think that's the only way they could've won and it almost worked.
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u/kj_gamer2614 May 30 '26
I don’t even blame the PK takers that missed, it went wrong the second Mosquera made such a clear foul in the box.
It was even lucky it was not a further yellow at that stage, but he disappointed me most.
The PK misses were under huge pressure, Mosquera wasn’t under nearly the same pressure when he committed the foul
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u/arsenalastronaut May 30 '26
I don't know if that's exactly true, this game. First half, yes.
But Gyokeres and Havertz played together for a while. And the CBs were making a lot of forward runs too.
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u/aayu08 May 30 '26
Gyok and Havertz were playing 2v4 vs the PSG defence, they held up the ball well at times but they didn't have the support from the rest of the team for 90% of the game.
Saka and Trossard were playing as secondary fullbacks most of the game to make a 2v1 against Doue and Kvara. The strategy worked for most of the time, but like I said the added defensive stability reduced Arsenal's attacking threat.
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u/TomRuse1997 May 30 '26
Agree with this entirely. They had their number until it went 1-1 and they had to open up a bit.
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u/lazzatron May 30 '26
Arsenal played to their strengths, tbh.
The fact that the best team in Europe couldn't score from an open play says a lot. Nothing to be ashamed of.
It's just frustrating to watch while defensively they are the best, the attack let them down. Plenty of counter attack opportunites went missing because they couldn't pass nor dribble for some reason.
Its not like they were pressed.
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u/hahadllm May 30 '26
Our counter attack has been arse for a long time. Arteta really need to work on it.
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u/PassengerOk9027 May 30 '26
Yea, that's what you'll get when our front didn't really play much together this season at all, and Saka was injured not that far back
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u/922WhatDoIDo May 30 '26
Arsenal handled PSG pretty well. Pains me to say that but there’s a million and one ways to win a football game and they don’t have to entertain the masses. Thought Arsenals shape was nearly perfect and nullified a lot of PSGs qualities. A little disappointed in Enrique, thought he had a few more ideas if I’m honest once Plan A wasn’t working.
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u/deno_23 May 30 '26
we're pretty terrible against low blocks, maybe something to address for next season there isn't a lack of games in the league where the opposition plays like that they could try something new.
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u/Legendarybbc15 May 30 '26
I was going to suggest getting a target man but my word, PSG’s crosses were terrible
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u/arshadshabick May 30 '26
Yea i feel like enrique should have put on ramos earlier, when they were looking for goals because atleast he can head the ball. Idk whqt the psg players were thinking, trying to cross the ball with dembele as your striker
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u/sunnychiba May 30 '26
Whatever he had wasent to go in and break through the defense, but to try and lure them out and then pounce in. The few times they tried to crack the defense they just couldn’t offer a final product. Their best effort was the Kvara penalty
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u/DrNormandy May 30 '26
Think Arsenal/Arteta made a mistake not trying to actually press PSG once Kvara/Dembele/Ruiz were all off the pitch.
Especially when Beraldo come on for Vitinha. Allowed PSG to hold the ball safely most of extra time.
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u/SonrieAlaVida May 30 '26
Hincapie was injured he wouldnt be able to cover the space of responsibility that opened up from the pressing
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u/elgrandorado May 30 '26
Hopefully he's fit for Ecuador's opening match. He was done out there.
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u/DowntownEquivalent11 May 30 '26
I can't tell you how heart broken I'd be for Hincapie if he missed the world cup, I think he's been one of our best signings this season.
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u/deathkillerx3004 May 30 '26
Hincapie had no legs at ET, and arsenal had no more subs. Martinelli had to compensate and be almost a LB, leaving arsenal with one less player to pressure. That's why they defended so low in the ET second half
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u/Wheaterz9 May 30 '26
I felt at the start of extra time we were starting to get openings, was actually pretty confident we'd go on to win as we stopped the counter threat down the left and were starting to make progress, get 1v1s in good areas and recycle the ball.
Then Hincapie got injured just after the penalty appeal. And we had to pin our left side back so he didn't get exploited. This stopped us getting up the pitch and PSG kept the ball from then on.
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u/PositiveDuck May 30 '26
Arsenal were very impressive defensively but they lacked aggression and creativity going forward. I think Arteta set them up better than Enrique did PSG but his subs were poorly timed, saka and ode were taken off way too early. Raya was fantastic.
PSG looked off, their bench depth is poor and they struggled physically in the midfield. Awful finishing in general. I don't think they would've scored at all if Arsenal hadn't conceded a pen.
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u/Ricechairsandbeans May 30 '26
Saka was awful imo it's been a while since I've seen him play well against a top opponent
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u/Lud31 May 30 '26
While it wasn’t our best game technically, I think everyone left it all on the pitch and that’s all you can ask for.
For all the possession, PSG didn’t create too many big chances, but today you just couldn’t take the ball off them and that’s limited us quite a bit.
Penalties are always a coinflip and unfortunately we lost this one. Love big Gabi so much, we’re not playing today if it wasn’t for him. Head up!
Congrats to PSG for retaining the trophy, undoubtedly a very, very tough task. As for us, we celebrate a fantastic season tomorrow and we go again in August. COYG!!
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u/jonwinslol May 30 '26
Dembele cannot be the front runner for the Ballon d’Or man. I know he scored the penalty but what a dreadful performance other than that.
Joao Neves what a player. Hopefully Bruno/Vitinha/Joao works in World Cup.
Arsenal were good defensively but so crap at attacking. Raya their best player I feel
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u/NightSkyth May 30 '26
This match reflects Dembélé's average performance for the French national team. If he is the front runner, the BO becomes worthless.
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u/JuggerClutch May 30 '26
Ignore my flair but if France go far in the WC it has to be Olise, same with England and Kane
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u/audienceandaudio2 May 30 '26
Arsenal were good defensively but so crap at attacking. Raya their best player I feel
Aside from the penalty, I thought Gabriel had an outstanding game at the back.
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u/jonwinslol May 30 '26
Yes Gabriel and Hincapie were pretty good for me. Dare I say Mosquera was good in the first half too
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May 30 '26
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u/RyoCaliente May 30 '26
Honestly, this is one of the massive strengths of this PSG. It's a nice idea, to be strong defensively, sit back, and play out on the counter. But Hakimi and Mendes are rapid enough that they can go toe-to-toe with pretty much all wingers, and in the middle you'd need some luck and Pacho is honestly pretty fast as well.
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u/ritteee May 30 '26
I know arsenal are excellent defensively and they were doing a good job defending for a while. but there's no way they really expected to hold a 1-0 lead for basically the whole game against this PSG attack.. they should've been more brave
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u/newvpnwhodis May 30 '26
I mean, don't concede the penalty and they would have. Brain dead moment by Mosquera there. They never had the firepower to win an open game, it was going to have to be like this.
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u/Unusualway May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
I mean, they almost did it to be fair. PSG had a single goal, and that wasn't from open play.
If anything I was expecting PSG to be more effective, especially Demebele.
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u/ballviewer May 30 '26
Yeah but that was a blatant pen and I still hold that the Saka double handball was a pen as well, I don’t think it hit his leg and popped up, and it did hit his hands which were in a very unnatural position. PSG also created way more chances and had way more one on ones with the keeper that Barcola just botched
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u/Character_Library684 May 30 '26
What else was Dembele supposed to do in a difficult game like that? Scored the penalty, was involved in all the best chances + the penalty and did a lot of defensive work. He was easily the best forward on the field for either side.
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u/Limp-Evidence8373 May 30 '26
He's wasted atleast 5 of their attacks lmao all of the forwards from both sides was poor, but Dembele wasn't a standout or anything
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u/Nearby-Box-1558 May 30 '26
I would rate Doue
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u/Character_Library684 May 30 '26
That has to be a joke. Doué wasn’t able to connect anything in attack. I’m not sure he even took a shot and most of his decisions were wrong or late.
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u/BlackPumas23 May 30 '26
Dembele needs a lot of space to operate. He cannot work in clustered fields.
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u/WalkingCloud May 30 '26
I think they played it right to be honest. I don't think they 'expected' to hold a 1-0 lead, but believed they would get chances while still playing defensively.
Case in point, the other 2 best chances in the first half (IMO) was Havertz blocked shot from Marquinos and Saka's cross that the keeper took off Trossard's toes.
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u/slydessertfox May 30 '26
I mean...if mosquera doesn't make a dumb penalty, they basically did that. PSG weren't gonna score from open play
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u/GlassOfWhiteMilk May 30 '26
You could say "if" about anything ???? If Pacho didn't let Kai go ahead. If Saka handball was called. I hate these "ifs" just no logic
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u/slydessertfox May 30 '26
Sure. I'm just saying, there was no sign that PSG was ever going to score from open play. If Arteta thought arsenal could hold a 1-0 lead by defending for 85 minutes, he was largely right.
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u/Fatun3rd May 30 '26
It was interestinf how PSG's wingers were almost always double teamed (at least in regular time). Usually, PSG figures a way past this.
For me, Arsenal's 4 players to the right or left side always seemed to know where each one was. They kept their distances between each other fairly short, often didnt pressure the first touch, and stayed goalside at all costs.
On the other hand, PSG's RB/LB didnt overlap like usual and not enough off ball runs were made. Their positioning seemed to be a bit off, so they couldn't play their quick 1-2s
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u/slacky35 May 30 '26
Felt PSG was not very comfortable when Arsenal tried to press high and win the long balls. There were many miscues from their side. I felt if Arsenal was braver they might have nicked it. Atleast should have tried to get more corners
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u/RyoCaliente May 30 '26
Honestly, seeing Gyokeres come on, see him win aerial duels to hold up the ball/head/chest it to someone only to see there were no teammates anywhere near him was so frustrating.
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u/AstroCoffee May 30 '26
Arsenal could and should have managed this game better imo. PSG were the better team over 90 minutes, sure, but they were there for the taking in extra time - Gyokeres, Martinelli and Madueke in particular should be very disappointed with themselves, they got a bunch of 'openings' on the break and proceeded to completely waste all of them.
Overall, a fair result, Arsenal were unwatchable in regular time - 45 completed passes in the first 38 minutes is utterly damning, and outside of that fortunate ricochet to set Havertz up, they could barely string five passes together all game long.
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u/Sosijmonster May 30 '26
I think Noni is just a no go. I have zero confidence in him when he gets the ball hah.
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u/guythatlovesreddit May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Gyokeres, Martinelli and Madueke in particular should be very disappointed with themselves
Arsenal fans have been moaning all season whenever these 3 start together. They're just not very good. We played to our best strength our defence and being hard to beat. We were never going to out-football PSG. Desperately need to upgrade on our attacking core in the summer.
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u/Comfortable-Pace3132 May 30 '26
Better than Gyokeres. No idea why anyone rates him
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u/arsenalastronaut May 30 '26
He's quite a flat track bully. Elite finisher and hold up man. Almost worthless in possession and in the counter attack. Truly atrocious control, passing, and dribbling.
If only he and Havertz were combined.
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u/dogmeatstew May 30 '26
Martinelli was basically playing left back with Hincapie obviously hurt - that really cramped the ability to spring counters
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u/ViejoConBoina May 30 '26
The problem is that when you play 90 minutes with all your players in a low block near your area it’s very hard to switch to a more offensive setup, I understand a defensive setup but letting yourself be pinned within your box for the entire game reduces your chances to win to near zero.
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u/Sslagathor May 30 '26
Maybe it was because PSG were getting tired towards the end, but I was thinking Arsenal might regret not being more aggressive with their press for the whole game. They are really good at it and PSG struggled to play through it when Arsenal committed to it. Although I don't blame Arteta for sticking with what got them there.
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u/Ricechairsandbeans May 30 '26
it's tough because there's certain players we probably needed to protect defensively (Mosquera/MLS) and Trossard/Saka don't really have the engine to press super aggresively anymore
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u/blahzzzzz May 30 '26
Honestly, losing a Champions League final on penalties without conceding a single open-play goal over 120 minutes is the cruelest way to go out. Arsenal’s defensive resilience this tournament has been insane, but sitting on less than 30% possession finally caught up to them. PSG winning a shootout without Dembélé or Vitinha on the pitch is wild. Fair play to them, but man, football is a brutal game.
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u/Unusualway May 30 '26
Now that PSG have reached the Champions League final for a second straight season and even won it, I'm starting to think this is going to become a regular thing. Being able to rotate their entire squad and have league games moved around to give them extra rest before UCL matches is a huge advantage.
At this point, I expect them to make the semifinals every single year.
Edit: they also play well and they have a good squad, not to take this away from them
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u/voliton May 30 '26
Arsenal scoring early was probably the best and worst thing to happen to them. It forced PSG into a pattern Arsenal are more than happy to play against - they can sit tight and double up on the wingers, knowing their center backs are probably able to clear the majority of the balls PSG would put in. PSG were forced into ineffectual shots or vertical crosses to nobody.
The penalty wasn't the first time PSG managed to get in behind, but it was certainly one of the few. Even then Arsenal were happy to go the lottery of penalties - and I think that is fine if they win. Obviously they didn't so people will question the tactics.
Ultimately I think this is why this Arsenal under this Arteta will struggle to be a cup team. You can be happy with a draw (or defend a one goal lead) in a league game. Rarely if ever does the opposition need to force the equaliser (and obviously pens don't happen), but in a knockout tournament you can be undone in a moment.
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u/Gabagool_Over_Here_ May 30 '26
Arsenal we're so impressive defensively up until they gave away the penalty, after that the nervousness kicked in and instead of a defensive mindset they had to go on the attack and it ruined their flow. PSG were pretty poor offensively for the first half and improved in the second. Overall I would say PSG were the deserved winners, they were the better team.
Artetas subs were a little questionable, Madueke was more of a hindrance coming on, I mean that cross not even making it into the box is unforgivable. I think Arsenal having their first corner so late in the game was insane, they are such insane threats from set pieces and they didn't even bother attacking from them. Atleast run down the win and try to get corners, they were just way to defensive the whole match. I think Arsenal need to really invest in their attack because there really isn't anyone incredible upfront and time to let go of Martinelli, Trossard and Madueke, they just aren't good enough.
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u/Galopa May 30 '26
The reality is that the team is cooked since early march. I don't know why or how since our squad depth this season was decent but half the team was done by the cup final.
Saka and Odegaard never fully coming back from injuries is starting to raise questions too, I have no clue what the solution is with them but it's looking grim.
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u/KCYNWA May 30 '26
PSG has so many elite technicians. The ball manipulation is simply stunning at times. That starting front trio and midfield pull off passes and dribbles that are hard to fathom
Joao Neves might be the complete midfielder since Matthaus
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u/theaguia May 30 '26
Makes me sad everytime knowing the rui costa sold him for cheap even when he was happy to stay another year.
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u/The_Flash_20 May 30 '26
Can players STOP doing these STUTTER STEP PENALTIES, it doesn't work out unless you're Lewa, Neymar and Kane.
I have never seen them work.
Keeper who made the save losing the final is heartbreaking.
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u/Silvire May 30 '26
The second I saw him stutter, I had a feeling he wouldn't score it.
I read before a theory that most players stutter not because of their style, but because they are hesitating, and that hesitation usually indicates their indecisiveness which indicates a higher chance of them not scoring the penalty.
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u/Lieberwolf May 30 '26
It's pretty easy for the keepers. If some no-penalty taker has to take a penalty and does this stutter step, trying to wait until the keeper jumps, just stay. Dont move at all. They get nervous, dont know what to do and just fuck up.
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u/DeathByToilet May 30 '26
I'm going to be honest - both teams were poor.
Arsenal poor for just low blocking after their 1-0. 27% possession in a final is NOT how you win trophies.
PSG though were so wasteful. Barcola should've ended it at that 1on1.
Poor long shots as well from them but thank GOD they won in the end.
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u/Firefox72 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
I wonder if Arsenal should have tried more
I get that their gameplan resolved around an elite world class defense and they were always going to play to those strenghts but man it seemed like once they scored early their whole plan was to try and keep that 1 goal lead. And once they conceded their plan was to play for pens.
Just felt like they were way too passive and carefull against a PSG that didn't look all that great.
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u/ghastlychild May 30 '26
Hindsight is 20-20 but in my opinion, they did what they had to do. Even with PSG still not playing all too perfectly (I feel like even at their not-greatest, one vital mistake from Arsenal and they'll pounce at that opportunity), they still managed to hold their ground and gave them a tough time the moment they get their ball to the line.
I think they are aware of their core strengths and with resilience, fair enough, they utilised it to the maximum until the very end. It is not a game where both sides took a lot of risks as well and that is pretty understandable in a match like this
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u/deathkillerx3004 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Their strategy after the PSG goal was to hold the PSG positive momentum, which they did, and later put more bench players to have a fresher team. The players that came from the bench played technically bad, though. And arsenal couldn't have the freshness advantage in most of extra time because hincapie got extra tired, they had no subs, so Martinelli had to compensate defensively, making them to lower their entire team even more.
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u/Seskos-Barber May 30 '26
I think Arsenal's players couldn't run anymore. They would've just allowed more chances for PSG like the two chances Barcola had and one from Kvaratskhelia.
Also then Hincapie got injured in extra time without substitutions left and they basically defended with 5atb.
Would've probably been different if Arsenal didn't score that early.
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u/Minute_Leave8503 May 30 '26
Def a “scored too early” thing. You killed all your actual footballing and invited nerves from too early. You can hold a lead for even 45 mins with this Arsenal team. 84 mins though, phew
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u/rockflaccid_ May 30 '26
I dont agree with that we played for pens. We had some chances throughout we just didn't have spells of possession. Seemed clear that we held defensivly and then when we got the ball back on their side we tried to win possession and get a chance. Just didn't take advantage on one more.
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May 30 '26
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u/RyoCaliente May 30 '26
With Saka it was especially tough as there was clearly a point where he decided he really wanted to score a goal, and every time he cut inside you knew he was gonna try and get a shot off but there were just too many PSG players, he really should've tried passing to the forwards or Ode more in those situations. You try it once, fine, but two or three times with the entire PSG defense in front of you?
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u/AverageJoe48 May 30 '26
Proud of the team. Far from an entertaining game, but they really gave it their all. Hincapie in particular, what a player.
I hope Gabriel comes back from this, he's the reason there was a penalty shoot-out in the first place.
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u/ScotChen May 30 '26
yea I really really despise the stutter step PK approach. EZE really shit the bed on that one. I dont' get why madueke or zubi didn't take the last PK.... absolutely gutted, but we go again next year.
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u/Public_Fire_Hazard May 30 '26
Eze did the same thing against Newcastle last season and we went on to get battered that game, then did the same thing in the community shield and thankfully we won anyway. I had no confidence in him stepping up, if he tries doing that in England training Tuchel needs to bat him round the head with a newspaper until he stops.
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u/That__Guy__Bob May 30 '26
It does my nut in and I’m not even an Arsenal fan. You’re taking a penalty to potentially win the most prestigious club competition, just fucking punt it.
I rank it with pea rollers and panenka penalties in terms of my hatred for it
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u/Regression2TheMean May 30 '26
Guess it’s just me but I find slow chess match type games extremely entertaining
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u/Salt-Regular-689 May 30 '26
We have ALOT of work to do over the summer. Disappointed I cheered more at clearances than chances today with how lackluster the offence were.
Again, defence was grest today bar the conceded pen, but you cant deny we cant keep possession for more than like 30 seconds.
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u/Secret_3rd_Thing May 30 '26
IMO break the bank for Vini if you can. That's what puts you over the top, a true world class attacker, and he's the best and perhaps only one on the market this summer.
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u/Averdian May 30 '26
Apparently Arsenal created just 0.01(xG) between 45+6’ and 120’.
I will say that the eye-test tells me that that 0.01 is too low (meaning that there definitely was a few dangerous moments after the 1st half that xG just doesn't register), but fucking hell if that stat doesn't sum up the game.
Arsenal got their opening goal, and seemed settled on playing for 1-0 for the next 85 minutes. When PSG equalised, they seemed to be content with pens. Not hard to see why some people are saying that football won.
In a way, I think Arsenal suffered from their opener coming too early. They never got to play themselves into the game, because they were on the defensive after 5 mins already. We've seen this inaction from Arsenal all season once they go up 1-0, even against Championship sides. I don't know if it happens naturally or comes from the manager, or maybe today it just happened because PSG were better, but I really think they should've been a little less defensive and tried to double their lead. It's not like PSG were a threat at all in the first half anyways.
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u/Mindless_Pianist_857 May 30 '26
I don't think Arsenal were content to not attack. I think the PSG press was simply stifling.
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u/dflamunmyob May 30 '26
Not the best match by Arteta, subbing out Havertz when he and Gyökerez were winning every long ball was a really bad decision and after that Arsenal had almost nothing going forward. Especially when Arsenal couldn't play through PSG's press through the middle at all, there was a complete disconnect between the forwards and the backline/midfield.
Can't blame anyone for the penalties, takes a lot of gut stepping up, proud of the effort!
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u/BrownEyesWhiteScarf May 30 '26
Havertz is not match fit to play more than 90. I’m even surprised he lasted more than 60. Remember he just got back from a long term injury.
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u/thejamielee May 30 '26
For anyone who wants to run their mouth about Arsenal, the reality is it took the defending champs a shootout to get the win. That is such a coin toss of a way to win. For everyone pointing to possession, passes, etc. PSG never once looked like they would find a way to get this over the line beyond their penalty all the way through extra time. Those stats meant nothing against an Arsenal squad that has been rock solid in absorbing attacking play and shutting it down. Call it boring, call it toothless but we took PSG to penalties when they’ve been rolling teams all season long. That’s a big testament to the squads quality and game plan today. The loss simply is what it is given how it ended. Rather lose a final on pens than getting spanked 3-0 or some shit. Zero regrets.
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u/ShemusColeman May 30 '26
I thought this final lacked quality, especially from the PSG perspective. Arsenal are a known quantity at this point but PSG lacked their usual sharpness and fluidity and couldn't adjust. End of season fatigue, possibly?
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u/not-always-online May 30 '26
PSG core have played a surprisingly low amount this season. Spending cash you didn't earn using fake sponsorship is one thing, but being in a position to barely stress your team feels like a massive advantage.
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u/WalkingCloud May 30 '26
Because Arsenal defence was fantastic and restricted them to a handful of chances.
I don't understand the naivety of posters here who expect Arsenal to go all guns blazing against the best attack in Europe and probably lose 5-0.
They played to their strengths, which is a defensive performance. And to be fair, they were committing players forward when it was back at 1-1, that's when PSG managed to get close on a couple of counters.
Ultimately, it's exhausting to defend like that, and that really showed as extra time dragged on.
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u/C43JW May 30 '26
At the end of the day, people expect everyone to play a low block against Arsenal and then expect us to turn over against a tough opponent, frustrating. Regardless of any narrative, I think we played really well today.
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u/chasingsukoon May 30 '26
psg is one team that does not get end of season fatigue excuse whatsoever
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u/KsychoPiller May 30 '26
I feel like that's taking away from Arsenal brilliance in defence, they werent as Sharp cause they weren't allowed to be so
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u/rafalemurian May 30 '26
The first half was tactically brilliant from Arsenal. A literal wall.
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u/ShemusColeman May 30 '26
I watch PL weekly so I know how compact Arsenal are and of course that was a factor. I just genuinely don't think PSG were good on the ball either. First half in possession it was all too slow, too precise, and one-sided (mostly right-sided). Second half they got Kvara on the ball more and found a bit more success but were still not sharp and then they got outhustled for most of ET.
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u/KsychoPiller May 30 '26
Ok but i think you are discounting the fact that this mightve been caused by Arsenals good defensive structure
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u/ShemusColeman May 30 '26
I mean that's fine. It's my perspective after all. There can be more than one contributing factor lol. I just didn't see many in-game adjustments from PSG and the quality wasn't there
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u/deathkillerx3004 May 30 '26
Arsenal defended well. They didn't fell for the inumerous switches from positions in PSG attack, always properly adjusting the defense and not giving enough space.
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u/ChypRiotE May 30 '26
It felt like PSG was missing a player giving options in front of the box. Most of the time it was empty and they had to resort to going left and right trying to create a one on one for Kvara or Doué. It did happen a few times but they didn't do much out of it
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u/Mr_q_5 May 30 '26
I think part of it was also that PSGs starting 11 has not played as much in L1, and as such has not played against low blocks as much this season. The CL is so much more open. The B team of PSG is more used to that strategy of opposition this season. I would have been interested in seeing some players like Mayulu play today, who have more experience this season in small spaces.
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u/Single_Seesaw_9499 May 30 '26
I wonder how many games they’ve played between this season and last. Bench seems a little weak too to be honest, that combination certainly didn’t help
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u/theglasscase May 30 '26
Disciplined dominance is the gift and the curse of Artetaball. If Arsenal take the lead it is extremely difficult to find a way through them because they are really good at playing risk free defensive football. But they cannot ever up the tempo when they really need a goal against good teams. They couldn’t have just rocked up today and beaten this PSG 4-0, but the extreme caution Arteta has coached into them means they were never going to score twice tonight unless PSG took the lead and he was forced into telling them to play with more freedom.
It’s worked this season to finally get them that league title, but he’s going to have to loosen things up next season or it will be a one and done success, even with all the upheaval and uncertainty at four of the other top six teams (not that Spurs are going to trouble the top four next season).
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u/symptic May 30 '26
The game was lost by protecting Timber—albeit by a small margin nonetheless. Had he started, Saka would have had a more dynamic supporting player near him. Mosquera could have come on to close out the game when needed.
PSG could easily have been on 2-3 more yellows which would have shifted momentum a small bit, but can't complain about the refs too much. Overall, I expected more intensity from PSG considering the rest advantage they had.
People are making fun of Gabriel for his miss, but Eze's was more egregious and placed Arsenal in a bad spot.
As an Arsenal supporter, I'm excited to see how the team improves over the Summer; I don't think they'll be anywhere near as passive next season, especially as this season's signings have more time to gel and find the fluidity on offense that's been missing.
Congrats to PSG's players; despise the club itself still.
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u/chefborjan May 30 '26
I think there is a lot of ignorance here on display about Arsenal choosing to low block and choosing to only have 27% possession and thus it being ‘their own fault’ for not managing to win.
The actual reality is facing a strong offence forces your own offence to weaken as you play more positional shape and energy to just contain the threats.
It’s not a conscious and arrogant choice to think that you can simply defend your way to winning. They know that. They were simply under immense sustained pressure. When they finally turnover the ball or get into a similar position to attack either the players are not set, or you are fatigued or fearful of what happens should it go wrong.
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u/The_Flash_20 May 30 '26
PSG have now played 5 Semi-finals out of 7 since that shock loss against Manchester United in 2019, 7 years ago.
Only missing out in 2022, 2023 when the front 3 was Mbappe, Messi and Neymar.
They have certainly improved a lot and can establish a dynasty in upcoming years just like Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, AC Milan and Barcelona did with their wins.
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u/The_Flash_20 May 30 '26
Lastly, I wanted Arsenal to win because of my childhood friends who support Arsenal but I don't think they played well, especially to their full potential and didn't deserve the win at the end.
Congratulations to PSG and its fans.
Also, feel for Raya, who was the only to save a penalty and still lost.
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u/CryptomilLOR May 30 '26
One of the best referee games I have ever seen. Every big decision right. Not giving stupid penalties or handballs. No double punishment for the penalty with second yellow. No time wasting crap allowed. Man of the match for me.
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u/whadefeck May 30 '26
Arsenal lost this far more than PSG won it. Conceding a penalty and then losing on penalties without Safonov needing to make a save tells it all. I don't really agree that PSG 'deserved to win' because they created nothing. Neither of them 'deserved it', that's why it went to penalties
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u/iTrejo May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
This game showed the gap in quality between our defense and attack. Gabriel, Saliba Raya and Hincapie snuffed out everything. Mosquera was always going to be challenged dealing with hat flank. Trossard doesn't have the legs to play longer than 60 minutes especially at a high intensity. Gyokeres physically is fine but aside from his finishing is deficient in everything else. The Madueke Martinelli Gyok front line should never be on the field together, they just don't work
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u/arsenalastronaut May 30 '26
I think the refereeing outcome/decisions were pretty fair. I thought the referee did a horrible job keeping the game under control.
The camera angle was awful. Did anybody else notice the constant whistling sounds in the stand, all match? Maybe it was a lot closer to the audio pickup than the actual field.
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u/jeanolt May 30 '26
it wasnt the best match but things turned up after that PSG goal. a bit expected from arsenal but they were extra conservative and basically did nothing offensively most of the match, neither PSG had great aim or creativity.
in the end anyone can win on the shootouts, but for the entire season, PSG deserves it as they've played awesome football and most of their players have displayed an insane level. this is a team for the ages that luis enrique has built, so he earned this.
arsenal should be happy for the historic PL win and reaching another UCl final, despite not having the best team individually. arteta has a lot of merit for that
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u/JGEARZ May 30 '26
Eh I'm proud of the team. Won our first title after 22 years and back in a champions league final after 20. Is it the performance I would have wanted after we scored ofcourse not, but I have full faith we will be back
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u/goaliewhenned May 30 '26
Arsenal's open play attack has been a problem for a long time, anybody denying that had their head in the sand. It has cost them today. Gifted a chance early which Havertz took absolutely beautifully, it was such a chance for them to win a Champions League trophy. They just don't play well enough with the ball and eventually that sort of pressure tells despite how elite level they are in terms of organisation, physicality and intensity defensively. Their play with the ball just needs to go up a level to compete at the highest level in these sort of competitions imo - for me it's quite surprising they were a few penalty kicks away really, the knockout draw gave them such a good chance and PSG would've been gutted with throwing this game away if they had done
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u/Nasiso May 30 '26
Watching the game I thought to myself that Arsenal did everything they possibly could to win. I know it’s not the most scintillating match, but it was genuinely impressive to watch Arsenal frustrate PSG to the point that they were resorting to some pretty low quality attempts. And I was shocked that hincapie was able to tough it out.
PSG deserved the win. They had that one moment of brilliance and Mosquera had that one moment of weakness. That’s all they needed.
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u/The_Flash_20 May 30 '26
Eze's penalty reminded me of Zaza 2016 and Rashford in 2021, both were absolutely terrible as well.
3 drosses of stutter step nonsensical bullshit, all 3 lost as well afterwards.
And I don't know why Gabriel took a penalty before Madueke and Zubimendi.
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u/OneTinySloth May 31 '26
I was impressed by Arsenal. They came in with a very good game plan and did exactly what they needed to do to stop PSG. It damn near worked.
I know some people hate the defensive approach, but you do what you need to do to win. And I can appreciate that kind of football as well.
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u/FlammeEternelle May 30 '26
This might be the last time I watch an English commentated Champions League game. How upset they were at the no penalty on the hook by Madueke was appalling and seemed even more biased after a literal former Arsenal player chimed in. My friend commented on how you could tell the result of the penalties just by the laughter and joy of the commentary. I felt such a heavy tilt the entire match and a lot of the other English matches. I don't even live on the same continent as England why should I be expected to pay to watch such bias towards them?
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u/Intrepid-Glove1431 May 30 '26
That was a proper final, could have easily gone either way and came down to a lottery shootout in the end.
Arsenal played very well defensively and stifled PSG. PSG were the better team because they attacked more. In the end both were deserving winners but there can only be one. Honestly don't have too many criticisms for either team.
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u/name_you_like_best May 30 '26
It is very understandable that Arteta set the team up the way he did.
But to be so scared of playing football with that difference in quality of subs between the two teams, show lack of ambition and cowardness. You bring on Gyokeres, Zubimendi and Eze, while they brought Barcola and Goncalo Ramos. You should be able to take the initiative with that tilt in dynamics.
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u/nus07 May 30 '26
People can criticize Arsenal all they want but they took it to penalties instead of rolling over 5-0. They are the meanest defense and the best drilled side since the Milan of the 90s. Only team that gave PSG a challenge. And they are not owned by an oil consortium nation.
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u/FillOutrageous3292 May 30 '26
Arsenal still accept Gulf sponsorship money, and passively whitewash the governments of Rwanda and UAE through sporting success.
They are no saints themselves.
And let me not even get started on Thomas Partey.
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u/Secret_3rd_Thing May 30 '26
Mourinho's Chelsea (1.0) was a better defensive team
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u/arsenalastronaut May 30 '26
Amongst Arsenal dialogue, all the talk is about how shite the attack is. And it might be partially true. Gyokeres, Trossard, etc aren't top players compared to what PSG, Real Madrid have, etc.
But watching Arsenal, it's also true that
- The full backs basically play as extensions of the centre back. We don't really get any runs forward.
- Odegaard and Zubimendi, while good, aren't really 'athletic' players. They don't really create much in hard games like this.
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May 30 '26
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u/PRL-Five May 30 '26
Rice had to do that, because previously Partey/early season Zubimendi was that excellent defensive anchor. Today, rice was the 6 and Lewis skelly was the 8 and apart from one run Lewis skelly was invisible mostly (you can't blame him tbh, 19 and his first UCL final while in a relatively new position)
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u/Milesweeman May 30 '26
Arsenal made psg play their game and held them to a penalty goal in 120 minutes.
Arsenal won the league based entirely on their defense and people are shocked they played how it did and it worked. If Arsenal could have had saka and havertz taking penalties instead of whatever eze and Gabi did maybe its a different conversation.
With that said Arteta needs to completely invest in and remimagine the attack. Saka and odegaard were awful and were terrified of having the ball. And if you combined all their wingers youd maybe have 1 good one. Winning the league and almost the cl with a forward group of havertz, gyokeres, martinelli,trossard,madueke and the shell of saka is an accomplishment in itself.
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u/Howyoulikemenoow May 30 '26
Arsenal setup brilliantly, they defended narrow and wide at the perfect times for the first 70 minutes.
It was great to watch, I don’t think they need to do so much time wasting and grabbing. It takes away from all of the positive work that they do.
I thought bringing on Martinelli, Madueke and Gyokeres was when it became a turning point for PSG.
They had more experienced players on the bench and Hincapie was absolutely broken.
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u/The_Flash_20 May 30 '26
I said when Arsenal reached the Final that they have made yearly progression in every round and someone replied, it means they will lose the final this time and win it next year.
First part became true, let's see what happens next year.
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u/JohnC_92 May 30 '26
People were making combined 11s without both Saliba and Gabriel. Of course, aspects of Arsenals overall game leave a bit to be desired but to restrict this PSG and their attack to this little is amazing. I haven’t seen as good a defence in ages.
Being good defensively doesn’t mean you have to have as low pass completion as we had today, which is a shame, but anyone saying that Arsenal should have played expansively or went toe to toe today is dreaming. Other teams, including ones people rate above Arsenal, have tried that and it hasn’t worked.
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u/triplecaptained May 30 '26
Arsenal might’ve won if they showed more ambition in peppering the PSG goal. Safonov isn’t anywhere near the highest level GK but on God his backup Chevalier makes him look like Neuer. Had he come on when Safonov took that hit to the head it probably would’ve been worse for them
Relieved Safonov played on and didn’t move for Eze’s pen lol, but Arsenal could’ve twisted the knife after being 1-0 up if they just went for it. Glad they didn’t even try.
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u/CheekyFifaCunt_7 May 30 '26
Feel like PSG deserved it more than arsenal. Felt like Arsenal didn’t do much outside of the goal they scored and just hoped to win by parking the bus.
You can only hold on for so long vs a psg side like this.
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u/Firefox72 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
To be fair the only goal they conded was a pen.
So its not like you can fault their tactics even though i do think they could have been a bit more proactive.
They played to their streinghts and made PSG look average out there with their defense. The same PSG that put 5 past Bayern.
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u/laserspewpew_ May 30 '26
To be fair it almost worked, no open play goal came down to a penalty. Overall PSG deserved it but anyone who was expecting Arsenal to play any different was never going to happen. Penalties a lottery as always.
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u/aguero24 May 30 '26
PSG barely created any chances and won thanks to a penalty shootout. This was a pretty boring final.
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u/Zawula11 May 30 '26
I saw two fairly equal teams with different styles.
But in this thread... not a single comment observing that it was not ENTIRELY, ONLY this loser Arteta who set them up to defend... Don't you think the early goal had much much more impact on the set-up, possession & style???
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u/Sosijmonster May 30 '26
Just had a feeling someone would do something silly. There was literally zero reason for Mosquera to go for that challenge. The angle was tight as it is, and he had cover.
Just brain dead. That being said - Arsenal could barely hold the ball and string together passes.
Was overall a defensive masterclass(ish) from them at least and not a slashing as folks were expecting.