Arsenal's last hopes of winning a trophy were extinguished by Paris Saint-Germain, who beat the Gunners 3-1 on aggregate to seal a place in the Champions League final. Arsenal were 1-0 down from the first leg and started this game brilliantly. Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard all missed chances or were denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma. But once Fabian Ruiz scored a wonderful volley, it was going to be an uphill battle for the visitors.
It looked to be all over for Arsenal when PSG were awarded a penalty for a dodgy handball call. David Raya denied Vitinha from the spot, but moments later, Achraf Hakimi seized on a Thomas Partey mistake before firing home. Bukayo Saka pulled one back for the Gunners and missed a glorious chance, but it wasn't to be for Arsenal this evening.
Declan Rice is understandably gutted that Arsenal haven't progressed to the Champions League final. However, he had a defiant message for the fans. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: "It's gutting. If we score one of those chances in the first 15 minutes, the game completely changes, but it is the small margins in football. Two mistakes from us, and two goals for them, and with the chances we missed, it felt like it wasn't meant to be. Over the two legs, we could have scored three or four goals, but it just wasn't meant to be. PSG have gone through, but we are going to be back, and we'll be a much stronger outfit."
Paris Saint-Germain have reached just their fourth major European final, also featuring in the 1996 and 1997 Cup Winners’ Cup finals and the 2020 UEFA Champions League final. Arsenal have been eliminated at the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2008-09. Tonight was their 201st match in the competition, the most of any side who’ve never lifted the trophy.
Arsenal have now failed to progress from each of their last four major cup semi-finals (2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 League Cup, 2024-25 League Cup, 2024-25 Champions League) – their longest ever run at this stage of competitions. Paris Saint-Germain have become just the third side to reach a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final having lost five games on their way to the final, along with Bayer Leverkusen in 2001-02 and Juventus in 2002-03, neither of whom won the trophy.
Paris SG's Fabián Ruiz became the first Spanish player to score his first ever UEFA Champions League goal in a semi-final match. His goal was his 60th shot in the competition in his 46th appearance. After Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, Mikel Arteta spoke to the media. Talking to TNT, he said: "I want to first congratulate PSG for reaching the final. The feedback I got from the bench is that we were much better than them. The best player on the pitch has been their goalkeeper. I thought we were very close, much closer than what our results showed, but I am very proud of the players. If we want to win this competition, we need to use this hurt. I don't think there has been a better team in the competition from what I've seen, but we are out."
That is another season without silverware for Arsenal, and Darren Bent thinks Mikel Arteta could be under serious pressure. After watching the Gunners crash out of the Champions League, he spoke on talkSPORT and said: "That's gonna be the big question. There's going to be a lot of reaction straight after the game tonight, a lot of emotional fans out there, a lot of people that are hurting, players included, family members. But when the dust settles and you start to look back at Arteta's tenure, he's done so many brilliant things in terms of bringing Arsenal back to competing for league titles, up there challenging Manchester City, up there challenging Liverpool, getting to Champions League quarterfinals last year, semifinals this year. Ultimately, you have to get it over the line at some point. You have to win something. I hate to hear it and I hate to see it, but you're going to get Arsenal fans going, saying enough's enough. It's been five years now, thank you for everything you've done. You've won the FA Cup for Arsenal, you've got us to a Champions League semi-final, you've got Arsenal fans believing, again, that they can get over the line. But the fact that they got to a quarterfinal last year, a semi-final, haven't won the league yet, I think there's gonna be some serious questions asked about Mikel Arteta."
The contrasts in football are truly incredible. On one hand, you have the pure joy of Paris Saint-Germain. On the other, there is Arsenal, who now have nothing to play for. This was their last chance of silverware this season, and they couldn't make the final. It will be PSG vs Inter Milan in the final.
As the match unfolded, PSG struck first with a stunning goal from Fabian Ruiz in the 27th minute. After a poorly cleared ball from Thomas Partey, Ruiz controlled it beautifully and unleashed a powerful shot from 18 yards out that found the top corner. Arsenal's early momentum faded as PSG began to assert their dominance.
Despite several chances, including a close header from Declan Rice that went wide and a couple of brilliant saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma against Martinelli and Odegaard, Arsenal couldn't capitalize. The Gunners' defensive lapses were costly, especially with the penalty awarded for a handball that David Raya heroically saved from Vitinha. However, disaster struck again when Achraf Hakimi scored in the 72nd minute, finishing off a slick move involving Ousmane Dembele.
With the score at 2-0, Arsenal desperately needed a goal. They found it in the 75th minute when Bukayo Saka scored after a determined run and pass from Leandro Trossard. Saka's goal gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope, but it was short-lived as they failed to find an equalizer, with Saka himself missing a golden opportunity shortly after.
As the final whistle blew, Arsenal's season came to a disappointing end, leaving fans and players alike to reflect on what could have been. PSG's victory not only secured their place in the final but also highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs, with PSG now looking to claim European glory against Inter Milan.
