Arsenal fall short of becoming 12th undefeated Champions League winner after loss to PSG

PSG defeated Arsenal on penalties following a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time to capture the Champions League title for the second consecutive year. Following the heartbreaking loss, the Gunners fell just short of joining a select group of undefeated champions in the history of the competition.

After a successful European campaign where they reached the final without a single loss, Arsenal was one victory away from becoming only the 12th team in Champions League history to lift the trophy with an unbeaten record.

Mikel Arteta’s side began its European run in dominant fashion, winning all eight of its matches during the league phase to qualify for the knockout rounds as the top seed.

During the home-and-away knockout stages, the Gunners recorded three wins and three draws, eliminating Bayer Leverkusen (2-1 on aggregate), Sporting CP (1-0 on aggregate), and Atletico Madrid (2-1 on aggregate) to reach the final in Budapest without a blemish on their record.

At the Puskas Arena, Arsenal put themselves in a position to achieve the historic feat, but their luck ran out in the penalty shootout. Trailing 4-3 in the shootout, defender Gabriel Magalhaes missed his attempt to keep Arsenal alive, sealing a back-to-back Champions League title for PSG.

The unbeaten Champions League winners

Following the defeat, Arsenal missed the chance to add its name to the short list of 11 legendary clubs that reached European glory without losing a single match.

The undefeated champions in tournament history remain:

• Inter Milan (1964)
• Ajax (1972, 1995)
• Nottingham Forest (1979)
• Liverpool (1981, 1984)
• AC Milan (1989, 1994)
• Red Star Belgrade (1991)
• Marseille (1993)
• Manchester United (1999, 2008)
• Barcelona (2006)
• Bayern Munich (2020)
• Manchester City (2023)

Among these clubs, Bayern Munich hold a unique distinction. When they won the 2020 Champions League title against Paris Saint-Germain, the German giants became the first and only team in history to win the tournament by winning every single match of the campaign.