PSG/Arsenal – Al-Khelaïfi, ‘we showed we’re the better team’ | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain won on penalties (1-1 after regular time, 4-3 on penalties) against Arsenal (PSG/Arsenal highlights) this Saturday at the Puskas Arena in Budapest in the final of the 2025-2026 Champions League. After this victory, Parisian president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi spoke to CBS Sports Golazo. 

Al-Khelaïfi: “It’s wonderful, we’ve created a culture at the club, with the supporters, the players, the coach.”

I have a lot of respect for Arsenal, they had a great season. But I think we showed that we have the better team. We controlled the match. We want to play football, to score goals.

The supporters never stopped singing, what you’ve created is powerful, a real identity? 

It’s wonderful, we’ve created a culture at the club, with the supporters, the players, the coach. We have the best supporters in the world. We were losing 2-0 against Monaco in the playoff and they were singing as if we were ahead; it was the same last season against Manchester City. There is a special relationship between the supporters and the team, they always push us on.

You started the season by winning on penalties against Tottenham (UEFA Super Cup) and you ended it with this penalty shootout against Arsenal?

It’s incredible. I think we created something really special against English clubs. The team was fantastic. There is a way to play against the big teams. Arsenal are a very big team, and we controlled the match.

Al-Khelaïfi: “We have experience against the big teams.”

What is your role in this success?

The players and the coach are the most important. When there are bad results, it’s on me. That’s football, you have to accept it. I prefer to give credit to the players, the coach, and the supporters.

Did you always believe in it?

At halftime, I told those close to me that we were going to win. I had felt it in recent days. We have experience against the big teams. There was Bayern in the league phase as well, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool…

Al-Khelaïfi: “We had no preparation, everyone doubted us.”

A third in a row possible?

For now, we want to celebrate. But we’ll go again, taking it match by match. We’re not going to stop here!

How do you feel?

Wonderful. We had no preparation, everyone doubted us. But I think the better football won. We have great respect for Arsenal, who had a very good season. But we love attacking football. We won, it’s fantastic.

How did you experience it?

Those were the hardest minutes of my life! But I knew at halftime that we were going to win. I’m very proud of my team!

PSG showed great determination? Are you proud of Luis Enrique’s work?

I’m very proud! We had a great run against some very big teams. That’s the culture we want, a mentality to win and to fight.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.