The pain of Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat is still raw.
Mikel Arteta’s side came within a penalty shootout of completing one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history, only to fall agonisingly short against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.
For many supporters, the immediate feeling was disappointment because the trophy was so close they could almost touch it.
However, Thomas Tuchel believes there is something Arsenal should not lose sight of after that heartbreaking night.
Now that you’ve all had time to reflect, why did Arsenal lose the Champions League final?
Thomas Tuchel says Arsenal proved they are on the same level as PSG
Losing a Champions League final is brutal, and there is no easy way to process it, especially when the margins are so small.
Arsenal were not outclassed by PSG, they were not fortunate to be there, and they certainly did not look like a team that had stumbled into the final by accident.
For 120 minutes, the Premier League champions went toe-to-toe with a side many people regard as the best team in world football.
The game finished 1-1 and ultimately required penalties to separate the two teams. That fact alone says a lot about where Arsenal are right now.
Tuchel was speaking primarily about Eberechi Eze’s penalty miss and England’s Arsenal contingent, but his comments about the team as a whole were striking.
The England manager believes Arsenal should recognise just how close they came and what that says about their level.
Tuchel said, as per The Mirror: “I don’t think I will need to lift them. They’ve absolutely had a great season. I’m always happy to do it if I have to, but they should know that a final just comes down to one or two shots in a penalty shoot-out, which means it cannot be closer.
“At some point, a winner has to be found.
“I have lost some finals in a penalty shoot-out, and it’s the closest way to lose, and it hurts, of course, it hurts a lot to lose big finals, but a penalty means you did everything right, it couldn’t be closer.
“But it also means you were absolutely on the same level with maybe the best team in the world at the moment.”
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Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat feels like the beginning, not the end
That is the key point Arsenal supporters should remember.
Twenty years ago, the 2006 Champions League final felt like the end of an era. Arsene Wenger’s great side was beginning to break apart, and there was a sense that Arsenal’s best chance had gone.
This feels completely different. The majority of Arteta’s squad are either entering their prime or have not even reached it yet.
Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Max Dowman and several others should all improve in the years ahead.
PSG won the trophy, but Arsenal showed they belong at that level.
As Tuchel pointed out, there was virtually nothing between the two teams, and that should give everyone at the club enormous belief heading into next season.
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