Paris Saint-Germain successfully defended their UEFA Champions League crown in breathtaking fashion on Saturday night, seeing off Arsenal 4-3 on penalties following a gripping 1-1 draw in Budapest.
The French giants kept their composure throughout the shootout, with Gonçalo Ramos, Désiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, and Lucas Beraldo all finding the net from the spot. Arsenal’s night ended in devastation when Gabriel Magalhães ballooned his effort over the bar, gifting PSG a historic triumph and cementing their place as just the tenth club in history to retain the Champions League.
As PSG celebrated a second successive European crown, Arsenal were left to reflect on another painful near-miss in their long wait to conquer the continent.
The final whistle barely had time to sound before social media erupted with reactions. Tottenham forward Richarlison was among the first to make his feelings known, posting a video of a laughing child on Instagram paired with nothing more than a flushed-face emoji — a gesture most fans immediately read as a gleeful dig at Arsenal’s heartbreak.
Erling Haaland was not far behind in drawing attention. Rather than commenting on the match directly, the Manchester City striker posted a smiling photo of himself with three friends. Given his well-publicised feud with Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães — a rivalry that flared during a fiery City versus Arsenal encounter back in September 2024 — the timing alone was enough to set the internet alight. Fans piled into the comments, with one quipping that “the caption writes itself,” another suggesting Haaland was “laughing his head off,” and others hailing him as a “proper wind-up merchant.”
Tottenham defender Djed Spence also appeared to get in on the act. The full-back resurfaced an old Arsenal social media post from February that had originally shown him being dispossessed by Bukayo Saka, which the Gunners had cheekily captioned “Locked up.” Spence reposted it with an eyes emoji and an unlocked padlock — a subtle but pointed response suggesting he was very much enjoying the last laugh.
Chelsea wasted no time either. Within minutes of the final whistle, the Blues published a promotional post advertising stadium tours at Stamford Bridge, billing it as “London’s Home of Trophies” alongside an image of the Champions League trophy. The timing was widely seen as a thinly veiled swipe at Arsenal, who remain without a European Cup to their name.
The Blues, of course, famously claimed their first Champions League title in 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo, beating Bayern Munich on penalties in one of the competition’s most iconic finals.
