PSG were chasing history of their own, as indicated by the giant tifo unfurled during the spectacular light and sound show before kick-off along the Virage Auteuil, where their Ultras gather. It read: “55 years of memory behind you to write history.”
Goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi either side of half-time set the platform for victory, punishing Arsenal for the blunt instrument that is their attack. Saka eventually beat Donnarumma but it was all very little very late.
PSG can now chase that history in the shape of their first Champions League triumph, while Arsenal are left to ponder a fourth successive failure in a semi-final and a season that will be looked back on by some as an anti-climax.
For Arsenal, it is a case of what might have been and another season when Arteta’s team have been unable to bridge the elusive gap between also-rans and winners.
This was their 201st match in the Champions League, the most of any side who have failed to lift the trophy. And it was another semi-final defeat to set alongside those in the 2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 EFL Cup, 2024-25 EFL Cup, and this exit here. It is their longest-ever run of exits at this stage.
Close but not close enough. Again.
Arsenal and England midfield man Declan Rice said: “We’re all desperate for it. That’s why we play football. We want to win trophies. We want to be at the pinnacle, winning stuff.
“For whatever reason, it hasn’t been meant to be. We’ve been really close and it’s not good enough.
“Arsenal deserve to be pushing for trophies and winning things but there’s not a lot more we can be doing. A lot of superstars have suffered defeats to come out on top. It hurts, you see the boys, the manager. We wanted to be in Munich but this doesn’t define us and we’ll be back.”
The task for Arteta now is to also prove he is a winner after a Premier League title pursuit that never got off the ground and the promise of the Champions League, including a superb win over holder Real Madrid in the quarter-final, coming to nothing.
In his pre-match news conference, Arteta bizarrely said: “Winning trophies is about being in the right moment in the right place. Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons. With the points of the past two seasons, we have two Premier Leagues.”
It was a flawed argument that conveniently ignored the fact Arsenal have been in the same place at the same time as Arne Slot’s newly crowned champions this season and did not deliver.
Arteta’s maths also failed to take into account Liverpool could yet surpass the 89 points Arsenal achieved last season, and tally of 84 in 2022-23.
This may seem a harsh assessment given the quality of Arsenal’s performance in Paris, but no amount of “what ifs” can disguise the fact that they are once again empty-handed.
