Arsenal’s Champions League final dreams ended as Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both missed in a penalty shootout defeat to PSG
Steven Gerrard slammed Eberechi Eze for his ‘nonsense’ penalty miss as Arsenal endured shootout heartache against PSG in the Champions League final.
Arsenal’s aspirations of finally claiming a European trophy were dashed for another year as Eze and Gabriel both failed to hit the target from the spot in the penalty shootout after 90 minutes and extra-time finished level.
The Gunners opened the scoring against the reigning European champions when Kai Havertz raced clear and found the roof of the net with an excellent finish in the opening minutes of the contest.
Mikel Arteta’s tactics stifled PSG, but the Ligue 1 giants eventually found a breakthrough when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was fouled in the area by Cristian Mosquera.
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele stepped up from the spot to send David Raya the wrong way and restore parity.
The contest subsequently became more open, but weary legs on both sides couldn’t deliver the quality required to secure a winner.
Viktor Gyokeres converted Arsenal’s first from 12 yards as the Gunners were required to take their penalties in front of the PSG supporters and batted second in the sequence.
Yet Eze was unable to maintain the perfect record as he dragged the ball wide of the upright following his stuttered approach despite Matvey Safonov diving the wrong way.
The England international’s run-up decision and conviction were slammed by Gerrard, who said on TNT Sports: “Penalties are hard enough.
“Think about the magnitude of the game, the stadium, the atmosphere, it’s hard enough without any of that nonsense. Put your foot through it, back your technique.”
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Raya swiftly came to his team-mate’s rescue by keeping out Nuno Mendes’ spot kick, yet Gabriel blazed the final kick of the final over the bar to hand PSG the trophy.
Speaking after the game, former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere said: “It will take a while to get over, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to take another 20 years to get to another final with Mikel in charge.
“I fancied us [Arsenal] for penalties but it’s a hard one to take.”
