Arsenal took the lead in the UEFA Champions League final but it wasn’t meant to be as they lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalty kicks and are still waiting for their first European Cup. But Mikel Arteta’s side came so close to glory on Saturday in the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Arsenal drew 1-1 with PSG in the 2026 UEFA Champions League final, but after losing in the penalty shootout, they finished as unbeaten runners-up.

MIKEL ARTETA will head to Spain this summer for a holiday with his family. And the beautiful beaches of Mallorca are as good a place as any to get over a painful Champions League final defeat. But

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins proved a thorn in Arsenal's side again as he completed his side's comeback with the equaliser in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Saturday. Arsenal looked on course to erase the memory of last season's home defeat by Villa -- the last time they lost in the league at The Emirates -- when Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz scored from close range either side of half-time.

To have been a follower of football since Tuesday of last week is to have had the strange sensation of being trapped inside the dream of a fanatical Arsenal fan, forced to bear witness to 10 miraculous days when the club progressed from winning the Premier League title to a new consciousness of itself as possibly the most important cultural institution in the world.