Arsenal star Gabriel missed a crucial penalty as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) recovered from a goal deficit to win their European title on penalties after a 1-1 draw against the Gunners on Saturday night at Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary, in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final.

In the championship game, PSG converted four of their five shootout penalties, but Nuno Mendes missed their only attempt, while Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missed two penalties for Arsenal.

Kai Havertz put the Gunners ahead early, only for Ousmane Dembélé to equalize from the penalty spot as the game finished 1-1 in regular time.

After 22 years, the Gunners had just won their first English Premier League trophy, and they quickly seized control and the lead. Havertz, who scored the solitary goal for Chelsea against Manchester City in the 2021 final, ran clear before smacking his shot high past Matvei Safonov from a narrow angle after Leandro Trossard charged down a clearance.

The holders were calm and controlled the remainder of the first half. Despite this, the Arsenal defense, which was well organized by Gabriel and William Saliba, didn’t give up any obvious opportunities. Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué’s rare strikes from outside the box highlighted Paris’ frustration. Marquinhos’ late block preventing Havertz from scoring a second goal was the only thing standing between Mikel Arteta’s team and an even bigger lead.

Arsenal knew that a record-tying tenth clean sheet of the season would earn them their first title, as they had only given up six goals prior to the final match. Nevertheless, Cristhian Mosquera brought down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inside the box following a smooth pass exchange, and Dembélé directed David Raya the opposite direction from the penalty spot to level the score.

The team led by Luis Enrique persisted in patiently probing, but it was a counterattack that produced their next moment of danger: Kvaratskhelia shot an effort that was diverted against the upright after driving into the area. Extra time couldn’t be averted despite late opportunities from Vitinha and substitute Gonçalo Ramos, who found the side and top of the net, respectively.

As a result, a first penalty shootout in the deciding game since 2016 was the consequence. The contest’s pattern of extensive Paris possession but minimal goalmouth action persisted.

Before the shoot-final out’s and decisive moment, Gabriel fired over to seal Eberechi Eze’s wide sweep and Nuno Mendes’ effort being immediately saved by David Raya. Paris was the first team to win the trophy twice in a row since Real Madrid did it in 2018.