Mikel Arteta has revealed that it was totally Gabriel Magalhaes’ decision to take Arsenal’s fifth penalty against PSG, which he missed.
Gabriel had the unfortunate moment of being the player to miss the final penalty in the shootout and hand Paris Saint-Germain the title.
Tell us we’re wrong…Mikel Arteta just cost Arsenal the Champions League by sending Gabriel up to take a penalty
Eberechi Eze also missed from 12 yards as the Gunners were beaten 4-3 on penalties by the back-to-back European champions.
After the game, Arteta was asked about Arsenal’s choice of penalty takers, and the Spanish coach spoke about why the Brazilian defender was the man to step up.
Mikel Arteta on Gabriel: “He wanted to take number five”
Mikel Arteta has explained that it was Gabriel Magalhaes who volunteered to take Arsenal’s fifth penalty against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Gunners had to switch from their usual penalty takers of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, who were subbed off in normal time.
That then left players like Gabriel having to step up, and there have been big question marks raised as to why he was the man to take the last spot-kick.
Speaking after the final, Arteta told the media: “He wanted to take number five. Obviously, we have prepared and trained for this moment. Normally, the penalty takers will be Bukayo, Martin and Kai, for sure.
Tell us if Arsenal were robbed during the Champions League final vs PSG
“We knew that if we went to extra time and penalties, the penalty takers would be different players, still with the quality. When you have Ebs (Eze) take penalties in training, he doesn’t miss any, but then you have to do it in this moment.”
Eze and Gabriel were devastated after their penalty misses, but they can both hold their heads high for such impressive campaigns.
“We’ve been unfortunate not to have the same precision and efficiency that they had, and that’s the reason that we haven’t won it,” added Arteta.
Losing on penalties is such a cruel way for Arsenal to finish such an impressive Champions League campaign, but next season, Arteta’s team will be back.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
