The 2025-2026 Football Thread

[daneoni]

Comiserations to Arsenal.

Ref gave PSG a leg up in the second half. He seemed to switch and became almost antagonistic.
Denied a corner and blew the first half whistle early.
Then 2 dodgy yellow cards in the second half.
Then denied Arsenal a pen for the foul on Madueke.

But PSG kept calm and edged the lottery that is penalties. Congrats to Enrique and his team who enter a different echelon of teams to retain the UCL trophy.

They say you have to go through heartbreak to win.

LFC, City, Chelsea all suffered pain before eventually winning.

Maybe this was Arsenal's turn

On that note, that concludes the 2025/2026 season.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Absolutely brutal way to end it.

Yes and no.

Well, I watched the second half in a pub, and endured extra time, and, obviously, the penalties, as well, while sipping two beers.

Most of the (offensively loud) clientele - including the wretched children who were present - shouted with odious and obnoxious volume for PSG. Words fail me, - we are not in France, after all - but it did serve to illustrate the serious dislike that Arsenal engenders in some quarters.

We fought to the end, PSG never looked like scoring during the game, nor during extra time. We threatened every time we went forward (which wasn't sufficiently often, alas), as - unfortunately - did PSG.

Raya was superb, as always, as was Rice. Havertz delivered (and not just by scoring), and the defence was outstanding for 120 minutes: PSG needed a penalty to put the ball past Raya (and it is a source of irony that the first penalty that Arsenal have conceded all season should take place in the Champions League Final).

Re the post match penalties, I don't blame Raya, and I don't blame Gabriel - he stepped up, after all , and his primary role is as a defender.

However, as for Eze, a forward, a striker, he failed to deliver on the big occasion, an occasion that is a once in a lifetime opportunity, - Arsenal have only ever graced two Champions League Finals - and his subsequent sheepish response didn't impress me at all, sometimes, a little anguish doesn't go astray....in any case, I have been unimpressed by him all season; moreover, I agree with @daneoni that Mosquera showed his inexperience, and I have also been seriously underwhelmed by Madeuke.

Actually, I think that the team was somewhat liberated by the fact that they (we?) won the Premier League.

It wasn't just that I could watch it without shrivelling and shuddering in a tense molar grinding horror, it was also the fact that I dread to think of what - or how - the team would have performed had they not already won the Premier League; it would have been a timorous, fear-filled, performance, one where the fear of making mistakes, the terror of error, would have ruled them. Instead, they couldn't have played better - not given the team as currently constructed, and the defence was superlative.

Yes, I wanted them to win, but I also wanted them fighting ferociously to the end, - which did happen - not tamely surrendering, or letting the occasion get to them.

They can hold their heads up with pride after that performance.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Comiserations to Arsenal.

Ref gave PSG a leg up in the second half. And should've given Arsenal a pen for the foul on Madueke

But PSG edged the lottery that is penalties. Congrats to Enrique and his team who enter a different echelon of teams to retain the UCL trophy.

They say you have to go through heartbreak to win.

LFC, City, Chelsea all suffered pain before eventually winning.

Maybe this was Arsenal's turn

On that note, that concludes the 2025/2026 season.

@daneoni: Yes, penalties are something of a lottery, but they also happen sufficiently often in the modern game for it to be inexcusable that professionals who are earning salaries of six figures a week have not practiced them sufficiently frequently to be able to deal with them - be comfortable with them and the situation - when confronted by them in a stressful situation.

Arsenal should have practiced penalties endlessly over the past week; and players who are lauded as excellent forwards, strikers, should be able to find a way to put the ball in the net when confronted by nothing other than a goalkeeper.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

PSG were always favorites, so I think Arsenal did really well to keep it so close against their petro state-funded opponents.

The ref’s calls perhaps favored PSG a little, though all the screams of conspiracy are….not accurate…as far as I’m concerned.

I was furious the day Liverpool lost in the CL final against Dirty Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid. So I feel Arsenal fans’ pain today. But they gave a good account of themselves and there’s no shame losing on penalties.

PSG, like Real Madrid, play in a weak domestic league so the CL is actually far, far more important to them than a domestic title.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

PSG were always favorites, so I think Arsenal did really well to keep it so close against their petro state-funded opponents.

The ref’s calls perhaps favored PSG a little, though all the screams of conspiracy are….not accurate…as far as I’m concerned.

I was furious the day Liverpool lost in the CL final against Dirty Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid. So I feel Arsenal fans’ pain today. But they gave a good account of themselves and there’s no shame losing on penalties.

PSG, like Real Madrid, play in a weak domestic league so the CL is actually far, far more important to them than a domestic title.

Personally, I thought that the yellow card brandished at Declan Rice - who was responding as the team captain, (as Odegaard had been taken off) and who pointed to his captain's armband by way of explanation - was harsh.

I asked some of those who were shouting so intemperately for PSG in the pub whether they really supported a petro state-funded sports-washing team, or whether they were chiefly motivated by the fact that they simply detested Arsenal.

 

[Sal09]

Im both gutted and angry at Eze.

 

[Alphazoid]

Oh well…so be it.

Once it went to pens i knew we would struggle with Saka, Trossard and Odegaard off the pitch.

PSG’s experience ultimately shown through

I’m not gonna have a go at the players. Every one basically performed as expected. I probably would’ve tried Calafiori, Merino and Dowman ahead of Madueke.

European refs are a special breed so I’m largely indifferent to their existence. None have been good since Pierluigi Collina.

Hopefully Josh, Berta, and Mikel now refresh the attack, and we evolve our style of play again for next season

We won the league and that’s the most important thing. Let’s just build on that.

The UCL will happen sooner or later.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Im both gutted

Less gutted than I would have been had we not won the Premier League.

Our defence was superb and Raya was outstanding - they never looked like actually scoring from play.

and angry at Eze.

Amen to that.

A player who has never really delivered all season.

It is not just that he approached taking the penalty in an idiotic manner - the stuttering approach rarely works - but his sheepish shrug afterwards really annoyed me. Meanwhile, Gabriel had a superlative game - and should not have been expected to step up to take his place among the first five penalty takers, who should have been those with proven expertise - in other words, forwards, or midfielders, but not defenders - in this matter.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Oh well…so be it.

Sigh.

Yes, agreed.

Once it went to pens i knew we would struggle with Saka, Trossard and Odegaard off the pitch.

Agreed.

PSG’s experience ultimately shown through

Possibly.

However, our defence excelled.

I’m not gonna have a go at the players. Every one basically performed as expected.

Indeed.

I probably would’ve tried Calafiori, Merino and Dowman ahead of Madueke.

Agree completely.

Haven't been impressed by Madueke at all, at any time during the season.

European refs are a special breed so I’m largely indifferent to their existence. None have been good since Pierluigi Collina.

Hopefully Josh, Berta, and Mikel now refresh the attack, and we evolve our style of play again for next season

We won the league and that’s the most important thing. Let’s just build on that.

The UCL will happen sooner or later.

Again, agreed.

 

[Corefile]

Thank goodness the Gunners lost as they didn't have a shot in them.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Thank goodness the Gunners lost as they didn't have a shot in them.

That is neither fair nor true.

 

[Sal09]

Less gutted than I would have been had we not won the Premier League.

Our defence was superb and Raya was outstanding - they never looked like actually scoring from play.

Amen to that.

A player who has never really delivered all season.

It is not just that he approached taking the penalty in an idiotic manner - the stuttering approach rarely works - but his sheepish shrug afterwards really annoyed me. Meanwhile, Gabriel had a superlative game - and should not have been expected to step up to take his place among the first five penalty takers, who should have been those with proven expertise - in other words, forwards, or midfielders, but not defenders - in this matter.

If he had sky’d it I would have been ok with it. Just put your foot through lad.

Anyway no point dwelling on it.

Off to London tomorrow for the parade.

We win together, we loose together.

Proud of my club.

 

[Sal09]

Thank goodness the Gunners lost as they didn't have a shot in them.

Lmao 🤣.

PSG needed help from their 12th player to rescue them. Best team in Europe couldn’t score from an open play lol.

I sometimes pity haters of our club seem like they don’t have a life and they waste all their time and energy spewing filth against us.

We will be having party on the streets of London tomorrow. And i will post few pics in here for their attention 😉.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Lmao 🤣.

PSG needed help from their 12th player to rescue them. Best team in Europe couldn’t score from an open play lol.

I sometimes pity haters of our club seem like they don’t have a life and they waste all their time and energy spewing filth against us.

We will be having party on the streets of London tomorrow. And i will post few pics in here for their attention 😉.

Our defence was superb, we played them to a standstill, they never looked truly like scoring from open play - and I am sorry that Gabriel - who was outstanding - I am sorry that his contribution to this game will be remembered by his unsuccessful penalty, a penalty that he should never have had to take, but, to his credit, he stepped up.

Mind you, I am really annoyed with Eze, whose risibly poor penalty capped an indifferent season with us.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Lmao 🤣.

PSG needed help from their 12th player to rescue them. Best team in Europe couldn’t score from an open play lol.

I sometimes pity haters of our club seem like they don’t have a life and they waste all their time and energy spewing filth against us.

We will be having party on the streets of London tomorrow. And i will post few pics in here for their attention 😉.

Forgot to add: Enjoy the parade tomorrow.

 

[Corefile]

Lmao 🤣.

PSG needed help from their 12th player to rescue them. Best team in Europe couldn’t score from an open play lol.

I sometimes pity haters of our club seem like they don’t have a life and they waste all their time and energy spewing filth against us.

We will be having party on the streets of London tomorrow. And i will post few pics in here for their attention 😉.

Arsenal are all what's wrong with soccer. They are the anti-football team which is their choice. Arteta should be run out of London for the trash play from that team which has that amount of money. Please don't mix up what "haters" means. Nobody hates that team so much as the way they play. FWIW, I prefer your team to that despicable team from White Heart Lane whom I wished relegated.

 

[ivanwi11iams]

Seriously Arsenal, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, what a season. Enjoy the World Cup, come back injury free, and we go again...

 

[daneoni]

Arsenal are all what's wrong with soccer. They are the anti-football team which is their choice. Arteta should be run out of London for the trash play from that team which has that amount of money. Please don't mix up what "haters" means. Nobody hates that team so much as the way they play. FWIW, I prefer your team to that despicable team from White Heart Lane whom I wished relegated.

Takes like this are a head scratcher

Really? Arsenal are ALL that is wrong with football? Seriously?

There's nothing wrong with football because there is no right way to win a football match. If everyone played the same way it would be boring.

I bet all those years when they played the right way you were one of those who said 'the thing with arsenal is...they try to walk it in'

If they lost the title and played the right way would you have applauded...in which case you support participation over winning?

 

[Corefile]

Takes like this are a head scratcher

Really? Arsenal are ALL that is wrong with football? Seriously?

There's nothing wrong with football because there is no right way to win a football match. If everyone played the same way it would be boring.

I bet all those years when they played the right way you were one of those who said 'the thing with arsenal is...they try to walk it in'

If they lost the title and played the right way would you have applauded...in which case you support participation over winning?

Arsenal were pathetic today. Have you seen the stats? They are the anti-football team with one shot on target and 25% possession. Not that PSG are any better, they are funded through means which can't be mentioned on here. What I'll say about the EPL win, both Manch clubs and the puddles were atrocious this year. Let's hope for a not-1990 World Cup this summer.

 

[daneoni]

They played to their strengths and nullified PSG until the ref got involved.

Anti-football is a lazy narrative.

I don't think a team that scored 101 goals throughout the season can be labelled anti-football.

 

[Bodhitree]

Well, I also thought it was a rather sudden and brutal end. But if you take five penalties and score three, you’re likely to lose if the other side are competent.

Madueke didn’t look like he belonged on the pitch. His corners and crosses were poor. There were several opportunities he had to run onto a pass where he just forgot to make the run, it’s not good enough. Worst player on either side.

But I also think Arsenal didn’t do enough with the ball. They never looked like breaking out from defence and getting a second goal, which is what they really needed. The long balls from Raya to Havertz and Gyokeres were too often quickly gobbled up by PSG defenders, not enough corners, not enough danger.

 

[decafjava]

Well that was a match. I stopped by a pub briefly to watch from outside (as it is less warm now) and then had to endure screaming fans and honking horns as we have a lot of French people here in Geneva. Well played Arsenal anyway.

 

[Corefile]

They played to their strengths and nullified PSG until the ref got involved.

Anti-football is a lazy narrative.

I don't think a team that scored 101 goals throughout the season can be labelled anti-football.

I see Sir Alex Ferguson has just come out criticizing the anti-football played by the Arse.

 

[Bodhitree]

I was just looking through the stats of the game, Arsenal had just 34% possession, and only a 65% passing accuracy, 7 shots and 1 on target. Those are not winning statistics. It was a heroic defence, but ultimately not a winning strategy.

 

[timber]

I don't like PSG but I'm happy for our guys.

2 years, same picture.