PSG star Marquinhos has revealed what he told Gabriel after the Arsenal star missed a penalty in the Champions League final
Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos has opened up on what he told Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes after the Gunners defender’s missed penalty in the Champions League final.
The Gunners were beaten by PSG in Budapest on Saturday night, with the tie finishing 1-1 after extra time, and the French club claimed a 4-3 win in the subsequent penalty shootout.
Gabriel and Eberechi Eze both missed penalties in the shootout, while Nuno Mendes for PSG had his spot-kick saved by David Raya.
In the end, it was Gabriel who had the fifth and final penalty for Arsenal, which the Brazilian missed and confirmed PSG as back-to-back winners of the Champions League.
Immediately after Gabriel missed the penalty, Marquinhos went over to the Arsenal star to console the defender, who is also his teammate for Brazil.
Marquinhos has now revealed what he said to Gabriel, as he reflected on his own experiences of penalty shootout heartache.
“As soon as he missed that penalty, I remembered what it felt like for me when I missed against Croatia to knock us out of the last World Cup,” Marquinhos said.
“It was a very difficult moment for him, a big responsibility. I’ve been through it myself and know how tough it is when that happens to you as a player. You have to be very strong to get out of a moment like that – and I know how hard that is.
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“Gabriel really wanted to win this title and had all that pressure on him, knowing that if he missed, that dream had gone for him and we would be the champions.
“So I just wanted to take a few minutes out of my celebrations to reserve this time for him, to hug him, to wish him to get better quickly.
“I told him that I’ve been through this moment and I know how difficult it is but that he can bounce back from it.
“Gabriel has played an amazing season for Arsenal, proved he is one of the best defenders in the world and shown everyone he’s a great player. He did not deserve to have all that weight, of that moment of defeat, on his shoulders.
“And in Brazil, we need him for the World Cup. I just wanted to hug him, to show him how much he is valued by us and congratulate him for everything else he has done this season.”
Gabriel and Marquinhos will both be in the Brazil squad for this summer’s World Cup, with the Arsenal star hoping to feature in the country’s Group C games against Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
