Arsenal’s Champions League dream over

Arsenal’s bid to win the Champions League for the first time is over after they suffered a 2-1 second-leg defeat to Paris St Germain at the Parc des Princes.

Mikel Arteta’s players were already one goal down in the semi-final, and, despite a strong start, they were two behind in the tie when Fabian Ruiz struck for PSG after 27 minutes.

Vitinha missed a penalty – after Myles Lewis-Skelly was adjudged to have handled the ball following a contentious VAR review – before Achraf Hakimi put the match out of sight in the 72nd minute.

Bukayo Saka pulled one back for Arsenal four minutes later, and then blazed over from underneath the PSG crossbar when he should have reduced the deficit to one.

But it is PSG, who have now beaten three Premier League sides in a row, with Arsenal following Liverpool and Aston Villa in succumbing to the French champions, that will play Inter Milan in the final on May 31 after a 3-1 aggregate success.

Arsenal’s sole appearance in a Champions League final came here in Paris in 2006 where they suffered a late defeat to Barcelona, and the French capital was the scene of yet more heartbreak for the north Londoners.

Unlike the first leg at the Emirates, Arsenal flew out of the blocks with Declan Rice’s header falling just wide of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s post inside three minutes.

Thomas Partey’s long throw then went all the way through to Gabriel Martinelli but his shot was straight at Donnarumma.

Another touchline missile from Partey was cleared by PSG, but only to Martin Odegaard on the edge of the box. The Arsenal captain unleashed from distance but his fine effort produced a brilliant one-handed save from Donnarumma.

It was a relentless start from the visitors and PSG – with star man Ousmane Dembele only fit enough for the bench – barely got a touch of the ball inside the first 15 minutes.

But they produced a warning sign when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s stunning curling strike beat a diving Raya and bounced off the Spaniard’s left post.

Arsenal’s fine start unravelled when Rice upended Kvaratskhelia. Partey’s header from Vitinha’s ensuing set-piece only fell to Ruiz, who took one touch with his chest to clear Martinelli before unleashing a fine strike that nicked William Saliba’s stomach on the way past Raya.

The hosts came close to killing the tie when Myles Lewis-Skelly gave the ball away with Kvaratskhelia finding Bradley Barcola in space. Barcola cut back on his left foot but Rice’s sliding tackle took the sting out of his shot and Raya saved well.

Rice called for a magic moment on the eve of Wednesday’s fixture and Saka nearly provided it shortly after the hour-mark when he forced a fingertip save from Donnarumma with the ball heading into the top corner.

PSG were then awarded a penalty after Hakimi’s shot nicked off Lewis-Skelly’s hand and referee Felix Zwayer was eventually called over to his monitor. He wasted no time in awarding a spot-kick which seemed harsh on the visiting side.

Vitinha stepped up to take it, but Raya was equal to the test.

However, the killer blow came three minutes later. Partey failed to clear his lines and Raya could do nothing to prevent Hakimi’s shot from nestling into the bottom corner.

A lifeline or sorts arrived for Arsenal when substitute Leandro Trossard chased down a lost cause and, after Marquinhos fell to the turf, played in Saka who rounded Donnarumma to score.

With 10 minutes to go, Riccardo Calafiori’s pass found Saka unmarked and with an open goal ahead of him, but he blazed over as Arsenal’s sole hope of silverware this season disappeared.

Published: 08/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub