Arteta explains why Gabriel took Arsenal's decisive penalty

Arsenal's Champions League final defeat has quickly become a debate about planning as much as nerve. Gabriel Magalhães took the fifth penalty, blasted it over the bar and left Arsenal beaten 1-1 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes with Paris Saint Germain. Mikel Arteta's explanation matters because he says the usual takers were no longer there when the biggest kick arrived.

Why Gabriel ended up taking number five

Arteta's account was blunt. Speaking to goal.com, he said: "He (Gabriel) wanted to take number five honestly. We have prepared and trained for this moment. Normally the penalty takers would be Bukayo [Saka], Martin [Odegaard], Kai [Havertz] for sure, but then you have to do in this moment."

That is the key detail. This was not Arteta presenting Gabriel Magalhães as Arsenal's standard fifth-choice taker. It was a manager explaining how a planned order changed once Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz were no longer on the pitch.

He made the same point to talkSPORT: "He wanted to take it number five. We have prepared and trained for this moment. Normally the penalty takers would be Bukayo (Saka), Martin (Odegaard), Kai (Havertz) for sure. But we knew if we went to extra-time and penalties the penalty takers would be different players."

That explanation helps, but it does not fully let Arsenal off the hook. Finals are often decided by second-choice situations. If a shootout plan depends heavily on players who might not be there at the end, then the back-up order becomes part of the real plan, not an unfortunate footnote. Gabriel's wider numbers show why he was trusted. He posted a 7.25 Champions League rating and a 7.34 Premier League rating. He is one of Arsenal's most reliable players. He is still a centre-back taking the decisive kick in a European Cup final.

The final was tight, but Arsenal were stretched

The game itself does not support any lazy claim that PSG simply blew Arsenal away. Kai Havertz scored after six minutes to put Arsenal ahead. PSG levelled on 65 minutes when Ousmane Dembélé converted a penalty after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was fouled. After that, the final drifted into extra time and then penalties.

Luis Enrique told goal.com: "Neither team deserved to win this match. But if I analyse the season, we deserve to win our second Champions League." Arteta took a slightly different line while still praising the winners: "I want to congratulate PSG, Luis in particular, because they are, in my opinion, the best team in the world. What they are able to do with the ball, with individual actions, I haven't seen it."

Both views can sit together. PSG had control for long stretches, and Arsenal's 24.7% possession was a record low for a Champions League final. That tells you how much defending Arteta's side had to do. It does not mean they were outclassed in a match that still finished 1-1 after 120 minutes.

There is another argument around the closing stages too. Arteta said a late Nuno Mendes challenge on Noni Madueke "could easily be a penalty", while the referee waved away Arsenal's appeals. That remains one of those calls that will hang around because finals sharpen every borderline decision. It also should not hide the broader issue. Arsenal still got to a shootout and still needed a cleaner ending to it.

João Neves said PSG were the only team who wanted to play. That is too neat. Arsenal's lack of possession makes the point understandable, but the scoreboard and the flow of the game say this was a margin match, not a procession.

What this changes for Arsenal's summer

Arteta was already looking beyond the pain by the time he faced the media. He told goal.com: "We will start to make some very important decisions if we want to reach another level. We are going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it, but it's going to demand to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart."

That sounds like a manager who knows the domestic title is not enough to settle the season. Arsenal finished first in the Premier League with 82 points, and Arteta pointed out that the club ended a 22-year wait for that title. That is major progress. It also changes the standard. Once you have won the league, losing a Champions League final becomes less about noble failure and more about what is still missing.

Declan Rice, who posted a 7.42 Champions League rating, tried to keep the reaction grounded. He told goal.com: "Devastated. Missing a penalty in a Champions League final isn't nice. But we love them. Look, that happens in football. Without them two this season, we wouldn't have won the Premier League."

Rice was defending the players who missed, and fairly enough. But this is where Arteta now comes under real pressure. If he wants Arsenal to "reach another level", the summer has to reflect what the final exposed: depth in key moments, clearer contingency planning, and enough attacking quality that the team are not so dependent on who is still standing at the end.

The immediate story is still the one from Paris Saint Germain vs Arsenal: Gabriel Magalhães volunteered for number five and missed. The bigger question is whether Arsenal use that pain to make the kind of decisions Arteta says are coming before next season starts.