Arsenal’s wait for Champions League glory goes on as they suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the semi-finals to Paris Saint-Germain.
The defeat also means it’s now five seasons without a major trophy for the Gunners.
It’s a second Champions League final for Paris Saint-Germain, and Ousmane Dembele has taken them there in one of football’s most unexpected redemption stories.
PSG won 2-1 on the night in front of their own fans with Fabian Ruiz’s first half rocket and Achraf Hakimi’s clincher making a Bukayo Saka effort nothing more than a consolation in a 3-1 aggregate defeat for Arsenal.
Paris stunned the Gunners in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium with Dembele’s strike in the fourth minute followed by another comprehensive showing against English opposition.
And with his assist for Hakimi in the return leg, he now has the record for the most goal contributions by a player for a French club in a single Champions League season with 12 (8 goals, 4 assists).
PSG entered the tie full of confidence after a season for the ages, particularly in Europe.
The only doubt pre-match, though, was the absence of Dembele.
The Frenchman’s injury situation was followed as intensely in the capital as in north London, a remarkable situation given that Luis Enrique’s squad building has characterised his young team’s rise post-Kylian Mbappe.
But if the pre-match tifo and fireworks weren’t enough, it was Dembele’s emergence off the bench to warm up that drew the most applause and anticipation at the Parc des Princes.
He again settled the tie as he has done for all of 2025, but those in Paris with longer memories will remind you that the leading Ballon d’Or contender has had a redemption path this season inside the one that’s encapsulated his whole career.
Coming out of Rennes famed academy before passing through Europe’s ultimate development school in Borussia Dortmund, Dembele had all the hallmarks of one of the very best players to ever do it.
Yet when Barcelona made him the second-most expensive player of all time in 2017 at €145million, the path to greatness stopped, and it’s only just resumed.
PSG may have five wins against Premier League opposition in 2025, more than Manchester United and Tottenham, but shortly before that they lost to Arsenal in the league phase and Dembele was the story.
More to follow.
