Gabriel Magalhaes breaks silence after Champions League final penalty miss - with Arsenal defender delivering ‘painful’ message

Mikel Arteta's side entered the final as newly crowned Premier League champions, and they got off to a dream start when Kai Havertz found the net after just six minutes. However, PSG clawed their way back when Ousmane Dembele converted from the spot in the second half. The stalemate led to the lottery of penalties, where David Raya's save from Nuno Mendes was cancelled out by Eberechi Eze's wide effort. The pressure fell on Gabriel for the fifth kick, but his wayward strike flew over the crossbar, sparking wild celebrations for Luis Enrique's men.

Taking to social media to address the Gunners support, Gabriel expressed his deep disappointment but insisted he remains immensely proud of a campaign that saw the club end a 22-year drought to secure the Premier League title.

"It’s painful, but I’m proud of this team and everything we achieved together this season,’ the defender wrote on Instagram. ‘Thank you to our incredible fans for your support every step of the way. You deserve to celebrate this journey with us and enjoy the parade today! See you next season!!! Love, Big Gabi."

Despite the criticism from some sections of the fanbase, Arteta was quick to explain the reasoning behind the shootout order. The Arsenal manager revealed that Gabriel volunteered to take number five honestly after the club's primary specialists had already been substituted or were unavailable following a grueling 120 minutes of action.

"He (Gabriel) wanted to take number five honestly. We have prepared and trained for this moment. Normally the penalty takers would be Bukayo [Saka], Martin [Odegaard], Kai [Havertz] for sure. We knew that if we got extra time on penalties, the penalty takers would be different players, still with the quality when you see Ebz [Eberechi Eze] take penalties in training, he doesn't miss any, but then you have to do in this moment. It's unfortunate not to have the same precision and efficiency that they had and that's the reason that we haven't won," Arteta explained.

There is little time for the Arsenal squad to dwell on the Budapest disappointment, as the club’s Premier League title parade is scheduled to take place today. Thousands of supporters have already descended on north London to celebrate the club's first domestic league triumph in over two decades, causing significant travel disruptions across the capital. Despite the European silver medal, the mood in Islington remains celebratory as Arteta leads his squad on a 5.6-mile victory route.