Arsenal will win the Champions League. Just not yet

Gather round, Liverpool fans. Gather round, Chelsea fans. Gather round, ~~Tottenham~~ Manchester United and Manchester City fans. Clear your throats, look your rivals in the eye, and bellow out at your highest volume:

"Champions of Europe, you'll never sing that!"

And crestfallen Arsenal supporters could be forgiven for believing them. Before trying and failing to rip the Champions League crown out of Paris Saint-Germain's grasp, the Gunners had played more matches in Europe's top competition without ever touching the trophy - 226, no less.

Arsenal should have won the Champions League during the Arsene Wenger years, and the illustrious Frenchman has proclaimed that the 2006 final will always be his biggest regret from his time in red and white, but a quarter-final exit to Chelsea in the Invincibles season is surely a close second.

But when the Thierry Henry-led Gunners took the excruciating walk past the trophy two decades ago, one golden Arsenal era had run its course. Patrick Vieira had already departed, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Ashley Cole would soon follow suit - some more acrimoniously than others - and the Gunners' greatest goalscorer of all time saw his powers wane in his farewell campaign.

Now, with a manager 14 years younger than Wenger was when he oversaw the 2-1 loss to Barcelona, and a starting lineup 2.2 years younger on average than the final Highbury unit, the golden Mikel Arteta era is only just beginning.

A more accurate - albeit less rhythmic - version of the anti-Arsenal chant goes: "Champions of Europe, you'll sing that one day".

Arsenal were fighting a losing battle before Champions League final

In between crafting witty responses to rivals fans' jibes - something about Man City's alleged 115 charges and Chelsea and Tottenham's double-figure Premier League placements - Arsenal supporters will line the streets of North London to pay tribute to another season of linear progression; an achievement that is not to be scoffed at.

In 2021-22, Arteta led Arsenal back into the Europa League. In 2022-23, Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for the first time in seven years. In 2023-24, Arsenal broke their own record for the most Premier League goals in a single season, with 91. In 2024-25, Arsenal reached the UCL semi-finals for the first time in 16 years.

In 2025-26, Arsenal ended a 22-year wait for a fourth Premier League title, and came within 30 minutes of a magnificent domestic and European double - a feat only three other English clubs have achieved ever since the European Cup's inception a little over 70 years ago.

And they did it while never crossing a line when it comes to UEFA or the Premier League's Financial Fair Play regulations, which is more than can be said for a few of their blue-clad adversaries, including the reigning European champions themselves.

Fined by UEFA for economic breaches as recently as 2022, PSG's monetary record during the Qatar Sports & Investment era is not squeaky clean, although that is not to diminish from the exemplary work Luis Enrique has accomplished in the French capital.

Arsenal simply lost to the best team in Europe at the Puskas Arena, albeit one that can also afford to spend £200m on a single player, one backed by a state-owned organisation, and one whose league offers them a helping hand in their European escapades - Liverpool and Lens fans will remember PSG successfully applying to have a potential Ligue 1 title decider postponed before this year's quarter-finals.

The Gunners still went toe-to-toe with Enrique's men in spite of all those factors, thanks to an unwavering sense of unity, devotion to the cause and tactical acumen; criticism of which has been nothing short of absurd.

Why criticism of Arsenal Champions League final tactics is preposterous

No team has had less possession in a Champions League final - since records began in 2003-04 - than Arsenal, who were on the ball just 24.7% of the time throughout the 120 minutes in Budapest.

Yet, the Gunners restricted PSG to a mere 0.3 Expected Goals before Ousmane Dembele's equalising penalty, won by virtue of the first and only true moment of individual quality Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was allowed to exhibit.

The "best player in the world on form" - according to TNT Sports' Darren Fletcher - was otherwise effectively nullified by Cristhian Mosquera and Bukayo Saka, while Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and a drained Piero Hincapie were as heroic as ever inside their own penalty area for two hours straight.

Yet, PSG's triumph was hailed as a 'victory for football' given Les Parisiens' desire to attack rather than defend, and Arsenal's willingness to absorb pressure and try to hit the European champions on the break.

Gunners fans should be the first to admit that their side have been too passive against beatable opponents this season - Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers spring to mind straight away - but in an alternate reality, Arsenal tried to take the game to PSG and ended up conceding five like Bayern Munich.

The difference between Arsenal and Bayern Munich, is that Bayern Munich have world-class attackers in Luis Diaz, Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala, but fewer world-class defenders.

Arsenal have world-class defenders - who kept nine clean sheets in the 2025-26 Champions League - but, with all due respect, a lack of generational talents in the final third to make up for any rearguard deficiencies, which Arteta undoubtedly recognises. Why would the Gunners boss not lean into his side's biggest strengths in the pursuit of history, rather than pandering to the masses in the name of neutral entertainment?

Arsenal were a few spot kicks away from becoming kings of Europe on Saturday night, a week on from finally getting over the line in the Premier League after three consecutive second-placed finishes. The Gunners did not give up and go away in the top flight, and after trudging past the UCL trophy while holding back the tears, the yearning to end decades of continental hurt will grow stronger than ever before.

With a couple of big-money attacking upgrades to complement their already unflinching defence, Arsenal will win the Champions League. Just not yet.