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PSG and Arsenal stars react to Champions League night in Budapest
31st May, 2026 07:18 AM
Paris Saint-Germain stars have reacted to the famous win as the French giants retained their European title on penalties after a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Luis Enrique’s men scored four of their five penalties in the Champions League final shoot-out to squeeze past Arsenal who managed to score three, winning the European title in second successive seasons.
The Gunners, fresh from winning their first English Premier League title for 22 years, wasted no time in taking the lead. Leandro Trossard charged down a clearance and Kai Havertz, scorer of the only goal in the 2021 final for Chelsea against Manchester City, strode clear before hammering his finish high past Matvei Safonov from a tight angle.
Arsenal had only conceded six goals heading into the decider and knew a record-equalling tenth clean sheet of this campaign would bring them a first title, but Cristhian Mosquera felled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the area after a neat exchange of passes and Ousmane Dembélé sent David Raya the wrong way from the penalty spot to restore parity in the second half.
Reactions from PSG’s camp
Vitinha, Paris midfielder and Player of the Match: “This was probably the most important game of the season and everyone was ready to go. Finishing the season like this, it’s the ultimate dream, back-to-back. I’m so proud, everyone is proud; Paris is proud, our families are proud. Today, we can say we are the best in Europe. We take pleasure in playing with this group. We’re all humble, and that makes you want to give more.”
Ousmane Dembélé, Paris forward: “It’s exceptional, it’s a great night. We worked hard this season to achieve the back-to-back [titles]. It’s been difficult, the whole season has been difficult and we’ve had to manage a lot of things but, in the end, we’re still Champions League winners and we’re all happy.”
Arsenal stars heartbroken
On the other hand, Arsenal stars, led by captain Martin Odegaard were left devastated in Budapest;
Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal captain: “We need to take our time in order to get over this loss. The season’s been amazing in a lot of different ways, we just couldn’t quite do the double, but we have to be proud of our performance. We’ve done some incredible things and we had a great run in the Champions League as well. We just have to use the feeling that we have now and also the positive feelings we have from this season to reflect on all of it and make sure we come back even stronger next season.”
Declan Rice, Arsenal midfielder: “It’s devastating to lose the Champions League final on penalties. We tried to take a lot of perspective from how far we’ve come as a group – it’s been an incredible season and this was our 63rd game tonight. We’ve given it absolutely everything up to this point and it’s a lottery – you either win on penalties or you lose on penalties. Some of the best teams ever have lost on penalties.”
Managers speak
Luis Enrique, Paris coach: “The match started in the best way for them. After that, they know how to defend. It was very tough. We are used to attacking in that way with a lot of players behind the ball, but against them, they are strong physically, very tough. We deserve [it]. Maybe today both teams deserved to win, but the way we played the whole season, we deserve to win the Champions League. We are very happy and trying to be there next year – why not?”
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: “It’s very tough when you are so consistent in the competition all the way to the final, and at the end you lose the trophy on a penalty kick. It’s difficult. I’m so proud of them. It’s just a privilege to manage this group of players, this team, the way they carry this badge and how much they put into it.”
