Arsenal’s hopes of reaching the Champions League final were dashed after a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Paris St-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
Chasing a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, the Gunners were once again frustrated by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who delivered another masterclass between the posts.
The Italian, brilliant in the first leg at the Emirates, made a string of outstanding saves in Paris, including a sharp stop from Gabriel Martinelli and an even better effort to keep out Martin Odegaard’s long-range strike.
Despite Arsenal’s strong start, PSG struck first on the night. Fabian Ruiz capitalized on a poor clearance from Thomas Partey, firing a 20-yard effort – helped by a slight deflection – past David Raya in the 27th minute.
The match continued at a thrilling pace. Donnarumma denied Bukayo Saka with yet another spectacular save before Raya responded by keeping out a weak penalty from Vitinha after Myles Lewis-Skelly was penalised for handball.
But Arsenal continued to be frustrated on the night and PSG doubled their lead in the 72nd minute when Partey lost possession, allowing Achraf Hakimi to turn and finish clinically.
Saka finally found a way past Donnarumma with a precise angled shot just four minutes later, but it proved too little too late. The England winger then missed a golden opportunity, firing over an open goal, as Arsenal’s final hopes slipped away.
PSG will now face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich.
Speaking after the match, a defiant Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insisted his team were the best in the Champions League this season, even though they will exit the competition with nothing to show for it.
“We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately we are out,” said Arteta.
“I am very proud of the players, 100% I don’t think there’s been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out.
“This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and theirs was the best in both games.”
PSG boss Luis Enrique was asked if he agreed with Arteta’s assessment, ans said his side were the ones who deserved to reach the final.
“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all,” he added. “They played in a clever way and they got the match to the right moment for them because they played in the way they wanted, and the way they love. But in the two legs we scored more than them and that is the most important thing in football.
“Arsenal played a great match, and we suffered, but we deserved to get to the final. They are a great team, but I repeat, we scored more goals, we played in a great way in the first leg, and the second half of the second leg was a different match, and we could have scored even more goals.”
