📸 Marquinhos hugs Gabriel: PSG joy, Arsenal tears, reactions | OneFootball

Joy on one side, tears on the other. As in every final, there are those celebrating a triumph destined to go down in history and those forced to come to terms with the despair of defeat. That was the scene once again at the end of PSG-Arsenal, with diametrically opposite emotions on the two sides.

What made these emotions even more intense and overwhelming was the penalty shootout ending, the cruellest and most thrilling stage football can offer. And it was precisely from the spot that the defining image of this final arrived.

Gabriel blasts his effort over the bar and sends the ball toward the section occupied by PSG fans, a mistake that, in effect, hands the trophy to the Parisians. The Brazilian defender's despair is immediate and palpable, but that is exactly when Marquinhos' greatness comes through. Rather than immediately giving himself over to the celebrations, the PSG captain runs to his Brazil teammate to hug and console him. A gesture of extraordinary humanity and leadership, showing the value of the man even before that of the champion.

😍 Luis Enrique lifted into the air, PSG go WILD

The Champions League returns to PSG for the second year in a row, and the emotion feels just like the first time.

Everyone is celebrating and soaking in one of the most beautiful moments football can give a professional. The cameras are focused above all on Luis Enrique, the mastermind behind the wonderful footballing machine PSG have become.

Everyone takes turns lifting the trophy, but when it is Luis Enrique's turn, the scene changes: a member of staff hoists him onto his shoulders and raises him even higher, almost as if to celebrate the weight and greatness of his contribution to this triumph.

😥 Tears and despair for Arsenal: Arteta comforts his players

On the other side, Arsenal are devastated after coming so close to the dream of winning the cup for the first time in their history, only to see it slip away by the finest of margins.

Gabriel is devastated, and we have already told that story. But he is not the only one to give in to despair: Raya is also struggling to hold back the tears. The Arsenal goalkeeper had kept the Gunners' hopes alive by saving Nuno Mendes' penalty before the final verdict. Kepa comes over to comfort him, hugging him and trying to lift his spirits in one of the bitterest moments of his career.

Arteta runs around embracing everyone, and after the game he sums up the Gunners' pain better than anyone else: "It's very difficult to accept. We were so consistent throughout the competition until the final, and then to lose the trophy on penalties... No one can take that pain away from you.". And the Spanish coach's closing remark is even more meaningful: "We won something big (the Premier League, ed.), but we missed out on the biggest one."

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

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