Arsenal came agonisingly close to making history in Budapest.
Mikel Arteta’s side were just a penalty shootout away from lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time after battling PSG to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
The defeat was heartbreaking for everyone connected to the club, especially after the Gunners had already ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title earlier in the season.
Despite the disappointment, Yaya Toure was impressed by what he saw from Arsenal and has now made an interesting prediction about their future.
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Yaya Toure makes Arsenal prediction after watching them lose to PSG
The immediate reaction after a final defeat is always one of pain.
Arsenal’s players gave everything in Budapest and came within touching distance of delivering the one trophy that has always escaped the club.
That is why the scenes at full-time were so difficult to watch.
Many of the players looked devastated, knowing just how close they had come to becoming European champions.
However, sometimes it takes an outside perspective to appreciate the bigger picture.
Arsenal pushed one of the best teams in Europe all the way to penalties and proved they belong at the very highest level of the game.
Toure certainly seemed to recognise that.
The former Manchester City midfielder took to social media after the final and suggested Arsenal will not have to wait too long for another opportunity.
He said on X: “What a tense final that saw two very different styles of play go head to head – and it needed penalties to crown a winner.
“Congratulations PSG, and I’m sure Arsenal will be back in the final again very soon.”
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Arsenal’s defeat to PSG feels very different to the 2006 Champions League final loss
There are obvious similarities between Arsenal’s two Champions League final defeats. Both ended in heartbreak, and both left supporters wondering what might have been.
However, the feeling surrounding this team is completely different to the one that lost to Barcelona in 2006.
That defeat for Arsene Wenger’s side felt like the end of an era. Several key players were approaching the latter stages of their Arsenal careers, and there was a sense that the club’s best opportunity had slipped away.
This team feels like it is only just getting started.
Many of Arsenal’s most important players are not even close to their peak years yet. Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Myles Lewis-Skelly and several others should all get even better in the seasons ahead.
That is why Toure’s prediction feels entirely realistic. Arsenal may well be back in the Champions League final very soon, perhaps even as early as next season.
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