PSG Outlast Arsenal on Penalties for Back-to-Back UCL Titles: Big Match Breakdown: 05/30/26

24:22And then after the goal towards full-time and extra time, both teams lost control. They seek to control the game in very different ways. PSG wants to do it with the ball, Arsenal wants to do it with space. Neither of them could do it. And what you've got with this really ragged, kind of disjointed, inchoate performance. And I think ultimately what that is down to is pressure. I think both teams were feeling the pressure that PSG had the ball, had the dominance of the ball, but they'll have known that all Arsenal needed was one chance to fall from a long ball, from a clearance, a set-piece. The roar when they got a corner in the last minute was extraordinary.

25:03That's then to write, well, that was the last minute of extra time, but this is how the season should end. The most appropriate thing here is that we score the winner in the Champions League final from a corner. And I think because they knew, PSG, that the Arsenal didn't need to have like pattern of play to hurt them. They didn't need to cut them apart. They could just go straight through them, straight over them. Like they're on a bear hunt, Rog. I think that panicked PSG just a little bit. And so, yeah, you get Kvarek Schellier running down towards the, what were 10 minutes to go and not looking like he knows what finish he wants to choose.

25:37The same with Barcola electing to do the Havertz with basically the last kick of the game because they know they have to take those chances because if they don't, there's that seedling of doubt that all Arsenal leaders are set-piece. That last corner, Ru, it's like the Eagles Super Bowl. I was sure they were going to do, they would have saved just one incredible corner that they never use. They've saved for that very moment. They'd all look at each other and be like, okay, we're going to do the Philly special now, lads. And they just unfurl this most avant-garde, complex Rubik's Cube of a corner that we've ever seen.

26:12Instead, I think it didn't beat the first man. It went to penalties. Kind of ironic. Arsenal hadn't conceded one in the league all season. And you knew Arsenal had an uphill climb, lads. Mick Jagger was there supporting the Gunners. His support, one of the greatest curses in the entire sporting world. It's fascinating to see the keepers, by the way. They now write their notes on paper. They don't do it on the bottles anymore because they know those bottles get flung into the crowd by the opposing keeper, which I just find so unbelievably disgusting. Down to the PSG end, penalty shootout. James, they are so cruel.

26:50It's like a completely different game to the one that preceded it. Football is just the ultimate collective enterprise. Suddenly, penalty shootout, it's reduced to like individual Russian roulette is so unfair. I stand by this and will die with this. I believe it would be fairer if they made the two managers have a Russian slap fight.

27:10James Horncastle:Yeah, with the Russian goalkeeper. I'm backing Safinov. Whatever childhood trauma he's been through to prevail in that. That's a man who's been on a bear hunt once or twice, if you know what I mean. Safinov does look like a man. He doesn't look like an elite goalkeeper. but he looks more like one of those men who is shirtless in one of those Russian bear fighting videos. You've just nailed it. Yeah, no, he's flailing himself with some kind of birch branches and stuff like that. No, I mean, he went into that shootout, and they were talking about he'd saved four against Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup, as it's now called, because we can't call it the Club World Cup anymore.

27:57James Horncastle:It's another trophy, that PSG one. And he was the hero in that. And then you watched David Raya receiving all that information from the best briefed set-piece team in the world, Inaki Kanya. And kind of, I did feel that Raya had had a good game without having to make any outstanding saves. You mentioned where he came out and was sort of inch-perfect on Barcola. And so we were talking amongst ourselves during the game. This was a reverse kind of Jens Lehmann moment, where Lehman in 2006 had come off his line, got sent off, and kind of ruined the final for Arsenal. And he instead, on all of those clutch moments, sort of came out on top.

28:44James Horncastle:And, you know, when he saved PSG's penalty straight after Eze's woeful efforts, you did think, OK, maybe another vibe shift was taking place there. And it was a vibe shift towards the Lagunas. So for Safranoff to prevail without even saving one of these penalties was quite something. I mean, it's amazing watching the two techniques. Ramos went first, top right, top binge. Jochores went right down low. Due executed almost like a nerveless machine. Then the first moment, Eberichieze. I found this so hard to watch, I'm not going to lie. He tried the straight-on approach, which I can't stand. Then he did the little steps up to the ball, waiting, waiting for the keeper to make the move.

29:37Stefanov had no intention of moving. If you watch the two keepers, each time you had Raya just flinging himself one way or the other, Stefanov barely moved in this shootout. Ebbs went on. You could see his brain just synapses. He was running out of little steps to take. the keeper wasn't moving. It's like fight or flight. His brain just exploded. Synapse. Penalty went, well, it was as if I took it. It went that far left. Rul, what was that moment like in the stadium? Because it was so emotionally, humanly hard to watch at home. You know, it's always really strange in a penalty shootout when someone doesn't hit the target.

30:17You know, I think as a fan, you know how to react. Like you process the information instantly when a goalkeeper saves a penalty. did you see it happen but it always takes you a second to realize that the ball has gone wide because you actually mean it's very it's quite rare to be honest you know given the number of penalties that are taken plenty missed not not many put them wide so there's this kind of intake of breath and it's that it's kind of 60 000 people buffering effectively kind of thinking all right that one's not gone in and again it was that deflation that i mean by that stage the tension's just at this peak of kind of stress, effectively.

30:55And it just deflates it a little bit because it does, it's not a vibe shift, it's an absolute momentum shift towards PSG. And at that point, you think, okay, they now have this definitive advantage. But as it turned out, Rog, it didn't last that long. Yeah, I mean, I felt like my lung had been punctured in that moment. I don't like to be hyperbolic. But then you're right, one of the most definitive and mock decisions of the Arteta transformation was yanking Aaron Ramsdale. seen as the heart, the vibes of the Arsenal locker room for bringing in David Raya, cold, cool, clinical David Raya in 2020.

31:30Raya has proven him right over and over and over again. An argument for player of the season. And watching him fling himself across the face of the goal to smother Nuno Mendes was beautiful. As was, by the way, Kepa's reaction. Cameras went to him on the sideline. Just the joy and the bullion. watching his training partner, his competitor for playing minutes. I love that moment. Tells you all you need to know about that, that spirit of the locker room at Arsenal, James.

31:57James Horncastle:Yeah, I mean, often the second choice goalkeeper becomes sort of hype man, not only for his competitor and teammate, but also for the rest of the team. You know, I've seen other sort of cases of this. I mean, sort of Pepe Reina at the World Cup when Spain won in 2010. I also saw it when Italy played Ukraine and don't have rumour that everyone was telling him to be dropped. And he made some big saves and Vicario was on the sidelines sort of celebrating like a madman. So I think moments like this really do speak to the team spirit amongst the group. regardless of... For example, Ricardo Calafiori being really pleased for Myles Lewis Skelly in the semi-final.

32:52James Horncastle:Lewis Skelly started in midfield then. And Lewis Skelly had been a competitor for Calafiori's place in pre-season. And he'd done so well there that Arteta was like, I need another guy like Calafiori. that's why I'm going to sign Hincapie I need these big giant kind of full backs who can move into midfield and get into attack as well and Luis Skelly really suffered for that and when he played really well in that second leg against Atleti in midfield Calafuri was one of the first people who was happy for Miles Luis Skelly so in all of the things that have helped Arsenal get over the line in the Premier League and get to a Champions League final certainly that spirit is one of the reasons Let's draw these moments of joy, even in defeat, Arsenal fans.

33:43It rolled on. Declan Rice scored. Hakimi slapped home. Martinelli was nerveless. God, I was braced for disaster there. Raya was diving so early. Baraldo sent him the wrong way. Upstep Gabriel. Having to go before those PSG fans, just screaming sirens. I'm sure in the stadium it felt even more insane, Roar. The pressure even more immense. That's kick was must score. Sending a centre back up. I mean, to one degree, that's leadership. Every Arsenal player we've had on this season, when we said who's like the leader of this team, they're like, big gabs, big gabs. Man had the hero of a game, poured his heart out all over that field.

34:23I thought about the muscle cramp, the mental cramp, the agony of all the players. It was him, Harry Kane in it over the bar. Meduake had not gone. Zubamendi hadn't gone. It's a cool, cool game. But what was that like in stadium, Roar, the walk-up? Were you like, Gabriel checks notes, why? And then the emotional arc of the whole experience. Yeah, a little bit. I wasn't confident that Viraldo would score. I'm not a manager, Rog, but I'm not sure I'd send up my Brazilian central defender who's been playing in central midfield to take the last penalty. That feels like a weird choice. All of PSG's four nominated takers were knocked on the pitch.

35:06it was to some extent a penalty shootout contested by both teams like fifth to ninth choice penalty takers which is extraordinary uh and i remember i i said to miguel delaney mine and james's mutual friend who i was sitting next to um that my logic on baralda was i didn't think he'd score which meant that i didn't think gabriel would score either a central defender at fifth in the fifth slot it speaks volumes for his character that he he stepped up and took that took that kid it's not it's not necessarily ideal I think both his and Eze's run-ups were with two staccato like two slot two stilted two kind of they didn't have that rhythm Saffalov didn't I'm not sure he guessed right on a single penalty he kind of just needed to get it on target and to miss like that is is heartbreaking for him particularly because he has I think he's the symbol of this team he's not necessarily their best player.

36:00He's not won any of the individual awards. We're British, Rog. We do not give individual awards to defenders. They don't deserve them. But he is the player who symbolises this Arsenal. He's the guy who scores from the corners. He's physical. He's their kind of the manifestation of the way they play, that kind of clenched fist. And for him to miss in those circumstances is genuinely symbolic and it's devastating. At John Brain, 7-4-3-3, off the top rope, says Everett GSA could have won a European trophy if only he'd stayed at Palace. Oh, I can't boom, 7-2-7-9 says, Gapel, it could be worse. He could be playing for West Ham.

36:39Could always be worse. Let's pull this together. You know, PSG, the reaction to the final. So they seemed almost relieved it was over then, ecstatic in that moment. Become the first side to retain the cup since 2018. Incredible achievement, mentally, as much as anything. It was remarkable to me in the moment that Safinov, no saves, but any keeper that wins a penalty shootout becomes woven in to the story of the game forever. The man who was considered their weak link was ultimately one of the protagonists of victory. Well, I mean, he was kind of standing there. I'm not sure he was.

37:17James Horncastle:Come on, man. I think Rory contributed as much as Safinov to PSG. You know, of all the things I've got you down for, Ryan, I never knew you were Safanov and the Moina. I didn't know this about you. I would say. You just don't give the man any credit because he looks like an insomniac barback. He looks like a bodyguard at a comedy festival. No, I think I got as close to any of the penalties as he did. I would say that is absolutely true. It's a weird vibe because you're totally right, Rog. When a team wins a penalty shootout, the natural instinct is to run to the last player who was involved. And in this case, that was Safinoff, who was less involved and more like a bystander.

38:03He was a witness. When you say a weird vibe, he gives off a patchouli vibe, is the honest truth. Do you know what? Matt Vey Safinoff was an eyewitness to PSG winning the penalty shootout. Oh my God, this is character assassination.

38:17James Horncastle:He was like that guy who wandered into the BBC that time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he ended up on BBC News, even though he had not been booked. He was going for the tech job interview. That's exactly right. He was going for a tech job coordination interview, and he ended up winning the Champions League. Do you think as the PSG players like embrace Safinoff, didn't any of them thought, why are we celebrating this guy? I will tell you this straight up I have interviewed a Premier League player I won't say who he's a big star and I made a quip about one of the reserve goalkeepers because he was American and this Premier League star had no idea who it was no idea he's like who's that?

39:07and I was like he's like is he? I was like oh wow so I've got just the sub goalie they don't have names Ross

39:17James Horncastle:But also, imagine being Chevalier. Like, you're signed to replace Donnarumma. It's like, you're going to be our guy now. And Safanov is the one who does it instead. Like, imagine for a proper goalkeeper. I mean, Safanov is a proper goalkeeper. I'm not going to continue diminishing him. But, like, yeah, Chevalier. I mean... This is the Champions League winning goalkeeper. but have some respect for the name Safanov. Is he like Trent Dilfer of like quarterbacks who've won the Super Bowl? Is this, you know? Wow, in the chat, tell us, is Safanov the Trent Dilfer of Safanovs? None of you want to praise this incredible man.

39:58All pull together PSG for me. We'll get there in the questions. Arsenal, parade still on Monday. This is still a season of wonder, right? It is. I mean, this is still a hero's journey. Josh Cronke has talked a lot this week. The board member from the Los Angeles Rams Cronke family. He talked about how Arteta is going to get a new contract. That's their priority. They're going to spend big again this summer. But this season was about the Premier League. That's what Cronke said on Tuesday. That was mission accomplished. They'll reload. They'll go again. The Champions League was almost like a side quest, right?

40:36This is still a season of dreams.

40:39James Horncastle:Yeah, and they've still made progress, Rog. I mean, every year we come back and they've gone from quarterfinal to semifinal to final. Maybe next year they'll go one step further and they'll win a final. We have seen in this competition, regardless of whether they won or lost tonight, that they keep moving forward, Arsenal. And, you know, one of the things that stood out to me when the teams were read out was Arsenal spent 300 million in the summer and 275 of that 300 million was on the bench. This is a team that is stacked. And as you said, it can reload and go again next season. but also James we've seen with Arsenal it's the first thing I thought as PSG sort of were litting the trophy and you got the glitter cannon firing behind them and the mad fireworks run off inside which I'm sure does not pass health and safety checks but the Arsenal players were kind of watching and this Arsenal team's defining characteristic for the last three years has been second again and this year they turned that into winning the Premier League they used it as their fuel and I think there's no reason to believe they can't do the same in the Champions League.

41:56I personally, and I think James probably does too, I feel that teams should win their domestic title before they win the Champions League. I think there is a poetry to that. And I don't think Arsenal are going anywhere. They will go into the Champions League next season to whatever extent they reinforce in the summer as one of the favourites. We've seen them kind of endure that flyleaf group phase. We've seen them kind of batter side pretty much everybody in Europe. And to be honest, this was a toss of a coin. with PSG, who are the best team in Europe. They can win the Champions League. They just didn't do it tonight.

42:30It's a beautiful way to cap out. Fraser MR 2009 in the chat, winning the Premier League, getting to a Champions League final. Ain't too bad. Arsenal will win the Champions League under Arteta. You're getting a lot of love, James, for your Trent Dilfer references, which I adore. You know, we will see on Monday thousands of people parade through North London. We will see joy bordering on a rapture, spreading throughout the world. Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, across Brooklyn over here, everywhere. I look at the joy this Arsenal team have brought to the world. I believe it's almost raw. Talk to James about this.

43:09Almost like a new world religion is forming before our eyes. Arsenalism. It could be the world's fastest growing and the world's third biggest religion very soon. Win the dog is one of its prophets. But I mean, the world is so dark. What Arsenal have done feels so good to so many people. It's remarkable. It's been interesting here, actually, that you've obviously got fans from both clubs that have come to Budapest. There are a lot more Arsenal than there are PSG. And I think just from kind of, this is purely anecdotal, I have not conducted any sort of scientific survey. I should make that clear.

43:47The people who are here in Arsenal's shirts have come from all over the world. They're not just from Islington or from North London. There are Arsenal fans here from across Europe, from the US, from Asia, from Africa. But what's really interesting to me is the number of Hungarians wearing Arsenal shirts. Budapest seemed to decide that it wanted Arsenal to win. I don't know whether that's a Jokeres thing. He's of Hungarian descent. I spoke to someone yesterday who made it very clear that in Hungary, they regard Victor Jokeres as Hungarian. I think the actual quote was, he says he's Swedish. They don't seem to accept that.

44:24That's not how nationality works in Hungary. It's like English. People think I'm English. Exactly. Bidziotres' granddad, I think, fled in 1956 after the Budapest uprising. There's a great piece on it in the Telegraph a couple of days ago over here. Bidziotres means rooted in Hungarian. So then it might be that... Rooted in Sweden. But he is rooted in Sweden. His roots are in Sweden. Look, nationality, identity is fluid. it it's fine but the we know the power of players because that's part of the reason Arsenal is so popular in Africa is because of Nwantwo Karni that's the massive thing that kind of made Arsenal Nigeria's team until you know Chelsea with their West African players started to kind of make inroads into it but that matters and it is indicative I think of the fact that Arsenal have in a way that was regarded as quite cheesy for quite a long time they have turned themselves into kind of an aspirational lifestyle brand which is the way that I like to think of all football teams and that has a natural knock-on effect.

45:21It does build you a fan base. It builds connection to your team. That's monetisable and that's important but it's also a spiritual thing. It has been amazing to see how many people so far from North London are so invested in this story and the word you used before, Rog, is side quest. I think it's the quest element of Arsenal that really appeals to fans. It's the fact that if you're choosing to support Arsenal rather than being forced to support Arsenal by your parents or by your friends or whatever. You're doing it because it feels as though when you do win something, it will feel worthwhile rather than maybe choosing a team that is winning constantly, where the feeling dissipates a little bit.

45:59Arsenal have got a lot of fans and they've got real buy-in from them. And I can't believe it. James is talking. I've heard from a lot of people in North London, just the sheer number of Arsenal jerseys on the streets. People are connecting to this story. We're living in a time of challenge all over the world. There is something about the suffering that Arsenal have been through, the tenacity in suffering and then the eventual redemption and wonder. And that ecstasy, Brene Brown calls it collective effervescence that a religion can provide. Ultimately, what we're watching Arsenal do and provide for their massive fan base.

46:36I mean, I guess in a way, all these football teams and our religions and unfortunately, I support Everton, which is a penitent religion. one in which we have to just suffer and I guess self-flagellate and experience pain but I wouldn't change it for the world we could do a whole show on this there is an ecstasy and I do believe that light will not be dimmed by this defeat especially judging by the chat MMLK314 in the chat says best team in Europe won today best team in England has a parade on Monday it's disappointing but we will go again at Robs9237 says, watching Jokeres play is like watching Shakespeare sculpt the Mona Lisa, which I just love.

47:19Oh, we've got to very quickly before we take your questions and thank you for your patience, GFOPs. We have to talk about the other massive news of the day. We woke up to find out on a slot and Liverpool having a conscious uncoupling, aka who was sacked this morning after an end of season review. the most devastating title defense, a year overshadowed by the death of Diego Jota, a disaster class of bringing in new talent and massive levels and flailing so many injuries. And then a coup at the end over social media by Mo Salah, 19 defeats in all competitions. More than anything, the football's slow, pedestrian and showing no signs of progress.

48:04We've talked about this a lot raw all season. You know, the excitement of the first season proved to just be a legacy of Klopp. I think of like Wile E. Coyote when he ran over a cliff and his legs kept running for a little while before he plummeted into free fall. That's what it is. The Dutchman came, conquered and then free falled. Non-surprise really, Roar. But the fact that Liverpool briefed for months that he was staying to have this sudden turnaround, how do you understand it? Yeah, I do. To be fair, I do think it is a relatively sudden turnaround. I think they made a conscious decision during the season that they were going to stick with slots during the campaign.

48:43I think that was the position they took. And look, from a point, you know, if you look at it in like really cold, brutal reality, he achieved the bare minimum. They squeezed into the Champions League. And Liverpool, I think, would say that that vindicates their decision not to change earlier. They weren't going to win the league. They weren't going to win the Champions League. So why not just kind of see out the season with the manager and get the fifth place that means you're back in the Champions League next season? I think what's happened since then is they've looked at it a little bit more rationally, a little bit more kind of holistically is the word I would use.

49:17I don't know about either of you. And they've realised basically that as much as Slott's not becoming a bad manager overnight, as much as a lot of the data, the metrics that they use, the kind of the equations that they're doing, I think they tell Liverpool, this guy's still a good choice to be manager. I think they've accepted that football is not completely rational, that you have to take into account the intangibles, the feelings, the mood, the fact that Slott had a year left on his contract. What would he need to do to get another year on that contract? Nothing that was feasible. What happened when he lost a game next season?

49:52The pressure would have been immediately unbearable. And I think ultimately that kind of left them with no choice. It was the only decision available to them. It felt inevitable. And the way they did it, the statement they put out is the most it's not you, it's me statement I've ever read from a football team. It really felt like them saying, look, Arna, it's nothing to do with you. We've just changed. I want different things in my life. I've got different dreams. I love another. You know, James, this is fascinating. For me, as an Everton fan, I'll say on a slot, possibly one of my favourite Liverpool managers all time this season.

50:34Up there with Roy Hodgson, for sure. But this is not about me. I found it fascinating, speaking to Liverpool fans in my life, who dreaded going to Anfield or were bored by the prospect of going to Anfield, which is the place of so many of their dreams. And the pace at which slot was transformed from stoic winner to figure of derision was humanly remarkable. It really, really was. One minute, his bald-headed was added to the iconic cop flag of winning Liverpool managers. You know, Shankly, Paisley, Dalgleish, Klopp, Slott. The next, he's just become a figure of utter derision. I don't know what you take from it.

51:11It's almost like he's living proof that football comes at you fast, number one. And that other footballing truth is it's impossible to be the man who follows the man.

51:21James Horncastle:It is, although I don't think we should take anything away from the fact that everyone was predicting the beginning of last season that Liverpool might have a succession like the one Arsenal had from Wenger, like the one that United had from Sir Alex Ferguson. And instead, they won the league, as he kept saying repeatedly this year, for only the second times in three decades. Bless. And he, look, there are lots of things in mitigation for slot this year. You mentioned the tragic death of Diego Jota and his brother. how they handle the summer transfer market. We've got Eketike, but we really wanted Izak, so we're just going to buy them both.

52:15James Horncastle:And Izak will arrive late, having not trained at all. Hardly ideal preparation to go into a season with so much expectation on him and the football club because of how much money they'd spent. I remember this time last year, we were talking about Liverpool being able to start a dynasty again. And so, again, in mitigation, did they bring in too many players that made the dressing room too hard to handle? Did they renew players' contracts when they should maybe have listened to their heads rather than their hearts and basically said, Virgil, you're too old. Mo, you're too old. Trent's gone. You're all gone.

52:54James Horncastle:We're starting afresh. There's no way they could have done that given how much Virgil means to that football club and how good Salah was last season.

53:06James Horncastle:But for all the credit he had in the bank for what he did a year ago, you know, Rory's been to Anfield a lot more times than I have this season. In fact, I didn't go at all this season. And I think that atmosphere really does matter. Like as much as you can put all those things in the side of the column that says, these are the reasons why Slott had a bad season. If you lose the fan base and you lose arguably the best player in the club's history after Kenny Dalglish, even if he's on his way out sort of subtweeting you, not even subtweeting you, it's very difficult to continue. Mo ended it. Mo did end it.

53:50There's no doubt that we need to have Klopp back, the heavy metal. I mean, that's the breathtaking thing, the number of likes for massive players on the squad, massive players of recent year it was it was a coup before i was at johnny 9761 in the chat says liverpool finally made a human decision and not a laptop decision and you know the person who is uh is almost uh soon to take over there according to uh david ornstein uh and the other such news breakers is an old friend of this show it's antonio erola bascal alfred molina um a managerial marvel to me. He's a basque brain, rolled into Bournemouth, performed alchemy, took that gap between revenue and results and made it evaporate.

54:38Honestly, he seemed to play the most tactically astute pound for pound football, showing that he can go toe to toe with the big six teams, playing an aggressive kind of audacious football, the aggressive football that Liverpool fans want. The downside Roar, he's never run a super club. Anything like Liverpool, with its unique set of expectations and pressures and politics, there's a little Thomas Franke kind of stench to it, if you want to be a negative thinker. But how are you feeling? Yeah, and I suppose the other question mark is he's never coached in Europe, which is a factor. I feel sad that Slott ended like this.

55:18I think it was inevitable, but it's not nice to see. I think he's fundamentally a good person. I think he carried the club really well through the first wave of grief after Jota's death. I actually think he handled the Salah thing quite smartly, to be honest. He didn't let it become a massive deal. He was relatively adroit in his handling of it. But he wasn't going to get a new contract. The fans had lost faith the first moment that there was any sort of setback that Anfield would have mutinied. And crucially, people were bored, as you said, Rog. People weren't looking forward to watching Liverpool play, to seeing Liverpool play.

55:55I think, and I watched a lot of Liverpool games this season, obviously not all of them, but I think they produced three good performances this season, all of them in the Champions League. Marseille, Real Madrid and Dalas Aserai, who were OK against Inter, but they weren't brilliant. That's not enough. There was no real clear vision of what he was trying to build. Iriola is the obvious candidate. I think the timing, given that you wait until Alonso has gone to Chelsea before you make your appointment, that seems interesting. Maybe they wanted him out of the way so there wasn't a kind of clamour to appoint him.

56:31He's got a relationship with Richard Hughes. He's worked with him at Bournemouth. That should mean there's no real tension. I think Iriola is the sort of coach who wants to coach rather than kind of accumulate power and kind of have his fingers in as many pies as possible. And crucially, I think this is the big thing. He plays a style of football that works in the Premier League as it is. He plays a style of football that can cope with set-piece Britain. Liverpool couldn't do that this season. Raiola has shown that he has that ability, and I think that's really important. They did need to be more dynamic.

57:06You have to take fans on a journey, and I think nobody really knew where that was going with Sloth. I love this. This is where we are now. Industrial Revolution. Britain gave way to Empire Britain. We now live in set-piece Britain. And I'm here for it. Tim Mason, 21 in the chat, says in 2024, 25 Slott added a touch of calmness to Klopp's heavy metal. In 2025, 26, he turned it into elevator music. At Onside says, The time of honour slot sacking is really strange. In the end, Liverpool chose neither Salah nor Slot nor Xabi Alonso. It's like one of those movies at the end where everyone gets done.

57:45To your questions, this has been long but gorgeous, and I'm so grateful to all of you. Remind of how this works on YouTube. I scan the QR code top left of your screen or click the pinned comment in the chat. Tony will bring you up. Let's start with an old friend. It's Christina Stotz. Tell us where you are and what's your question?

58:04James Horncastle:Good afternoon, gentlemen. This is Christina Stotz now from Fayetteville, Arkansas and not Joplin, Missouri. America. Yes. My question is, could we see both of these teams again in the Champions League final next season? Both of these teams are going to retool during the summer transfer window. I think we are going to see a rematch again next season. Oh, that is an incredible question, as is this chat comment that says, Roger would prefer Liam Resenia for Liverpool. That is incredible. You're a mind reader, whoever put that one in. Gents, I mean, this could be a, There could be Arsenal, PSG2, Electric Boogaloo, right?

58:59It's not out of the stretch of belief. They played each other in the semi-final last year, the final this year. I don't see any reason to think that they won't be... I suppose the only thing that would stop it, Christina, is if they get each other earlier in the tournament. That's maybe the one thing that you can't account for, that the draw might put them together in the quarter-finals. But they will be two of the five contenders to win, maybe six contenders to win the Champions League next season because football doesn't change that quickly. Anthony Gordon might inspire Barcelona to greatness, but the likelihood is I think that they will be certainly two of the semifinals unless they play each other beforehand.

59:41Can we just say how incredible it was to watch Anthony Gordon speaks Spanish and Catalan in his Welcome to Barcelona press conference yesterday. He came on our show when Everton had just escaped relegation, did a live stage show in New York City. He barely... In Catalan. He could barely speak English. Yeah, no, he could barely speak English. He was like...

1:00:04James Horncastle:Because he only speaks Spanish and Catalan, Rog. That's why he can barely speak English. I didn't know it was his second language. He came on stage and he's so sweet and lovely, but he was so nervous and the fans started to do it. Oh, Anthony Gordon. And he just leant into the microphone and goes, I'm never going to leave you. And he left three weeks later. So Newcastle fans, I know how you feel. But that Spanish was, it was incredible, man. It was like watching like Air Bud, where like the dog can dunk the basketball. I was like, holy crap, how did that happen? How can you do that? Next one up is the great Chris from Miami.

1:00:42Come on up, Chris. What's your question for James and Rorick?

1:00:45James Horncastle:Hey, guys. Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. My question is kind of similar in a way to that previous question, but basically I want to know if you guys believe PSG State football by stopping Arsenal from winning another trophy with their annoying set-piece style of play. Wow. That is a wild question. Who do you support, Chris, by the way? I'm a huge Man City fan, so I was on a complete hate watch today. Yeah, you and Josh Hart. Josh Hart said, I am on a, what did he tweet to him? I'm on a, like, people will study the level of hate watch that I am on right now as a Chelsea fan. That's an incredible question.

1:01:25The question is, did PSG save football from Arsenal? I don't know, man. Raw, you've got to un-code that one for me. No, partly because PSG weren't that good, I think. like it didn't feel like a i was expecting or not expecting i was kind of wondering whether this might turn out to be a real kind of styles make fights final where where psg kind of unloaded on arsenal and we saw what could be taken as like conclusive proof that a more open and adventurous style was would always trump a more kind of cautious one that the unstoppable force would beat the immovable object but to be honest it was it was a stalemate it was quite a compelling stalemate.

1:02:12I don't think it was a boring final particularly. The last 40 minutes weren't the highest quality of football you'll ever see. But Arsenal shut PSG down. They showed that you can take the best attacking team in Europe and you can nullify them, except for one moment and you can come within two quite bad penalties of beating them and winning the biggest game in club football. So no unfortunately, I don't think Arteta will look back at this and think if only I'd been more expansive, I would have won. I think people see in it like James said earlier, proof that they're getting closer? You know, James, I think you could say PSG saved Schadenfreude up in football and the ability to kind of find a little raw nerve that Arsenal remain the biggest team in Europe never to win the Champions League.

1:02:58James Horncastle:Which is the most important thing in football, Rog. You mentioned the hate watch, the Schadenfreude, it's what gets people out of bed. It's what gets people online engaged in this sport. Did PSG save football? I think football has kind of already been saved if we think Arsenal are kind of leading it to damnation with these set pieces. Because the semifinals that we saw between PSG and Bayern, I think they were the other reason why we've watched football when it's not about Schadenfreude. they have shown the way that you know it's it's it's going to be about exquisite skill 1v1 dribblers be it Michael Lissé, Luis Diaz, Cavarazkelia yeah even Dwayne tonight as well and I think more people will sort of take a cue okay that's the way football is going and I think Rory's made this point a couple of times.

1:04:05James Horncastle:Maybe now that Arsenal have got over the line, as we keep saying, maybe they will be a little bit more expansive next year. Maybe they will try and evolve this style into something a little bit different. We haven't yet seen what the reload will look like. Will it be more handbrake-off than it has been this season? I had the fortune of speaking to Cesc Fabregas yesterday and Cesc said and this is an Arsenal man through and through he said that if you watch Premier League games there's a pattern to Premier League games you watch the teams, they all look sort of the same whereas in Europe, because it's all man for man it's a real jumble and that's where the sort of challenge is because that's where great players really show that they're great.

1:05:06James Horncastle:That's where great coaches show that they're great in finding ways to win amid all of that chaos, which is something that Arsenal have tried to rage against with their ultra control over the last season. But we've seen Arsenal play a more expansive style before under Arteta. um let's see if if next year they try and put the accent more on that um than what we've seen in the last year christina starts this will not be a repeat this final because as james just hinted como will be in the final this time next year um also uh take notes james does get out of bed um for ses fabagas doesn't for tom hiddleston it's just the kind of guy he is um let's pull this together.

1:05:55I do believe saying that PSG saved football over Arsenal. It's like rooting for Batman. I've rooting for Joker in the Batman movies. But God bless. It takes all types. Let's close this show with one more from the mighty Zach. Tell us where you're from and what's your question for James and Ruhl. Hello, gents. This is Zach in Kansas City. First off, I want to say my heart goes out to both Eze and Gabriel today. I hope that they have their people around them and their support systems close. But to get to my question, you've already touched on it a little bit, but I want to know what does success look like next for Arsenal?

1:06:35Obviously, winning the league is a big accomplishment, but is it Champions League or BUS now? And in addition to that, is this handbrake-off style of football what they need in order to succeed in the Champions League? It seems like more and more we're seeing two different styles of football in the Premier League versus what's happening in the rest of Europe. So I just want to know your thoughts on that. Thank you. It's a beautiful question. What is success? How will they be judged next season? God, this is who we are. We're already judging Arsenal's next season. We're not even allowing them to enjoy the spoils.

1:07:10But it's true. It's how you think about things. And also, how will they evolve when Arteta famously goes into his basement and does the deep thinking? Arteta's just spoken to the media, described the feeling of today. He said, pain, that's it. When you're so close in a competition and a few penalty kicks away from winning the biggest football tournament, that's how you should feel. It's a good way to close for both of you. What will the goal now be for Arsenal next season and how will they feel?

1:07:43James Horncastle:I think they have to retain the Premier League. I mean, that is something that we seem obsessed with in England, that our competition is still the competition that means most. Certainly Pep Guardiola, when he was at Man City, he would always talk about how difficult it is to retain the league. And to do it four in a row, the way that City did, has lifted that achievement into the very best achievements that we have seen in kind of English football. So going again is big. But I think, as Rory alluded to, now that they've got the Premier League, maybe to find that kind of Hillary step to finally climb Everest and win the Champions League, they'll have taken a lot from tonight.

1:08:38James Horncastle:They will be reminded not only that they're close, that they keep moving forward in this competition, But they took PSG, a team that everybody says is the best team in football, two penalties. And it wasn't Safinov that stopped them. It was Eze dragging a shot wide and Gabriel putting a penalty over that stopped them. So in some respects, it's only themselves that has got in the way at the end of this. I think they've got everything to go again. City are going to be in transition with Enzo Maresca. And I think if people think that Arteta's football is boring, wait for what Maresca's probably got in store for City.

1:09:20James Horncastle:We don't know, as Rory said, what Iraola will do with Liverpool, whether he'll be able to cope with superstars, big egos in that dressing room, and European football. So they could, this time next year, be on for the double again, or maybe the treble, or maybe the quadruple, because we always have to talk about the quadruple in February-March time with our big clubs. It doesn't count unless someone's trying to win a quadruple. I think there is a question now over how do you tilt the odds so that you are in a position where you don't go to penalties, where you can take the lead in the fifth minute of the Champions League final against a team with that much talent and execute, I think.

1:10:02I'm of the view that if Arteta doesn't adjust his style a little bit, even domestically, I think the fans will eventually start to revolt. My sense with Arsenal has always been that how angry everyone gets about any criticism about their style of play is really kind of giving themselves away a little bit. They're not great to watch. Arteta, I think that's a choice he's made. I don't think it's who he is necessarily. I'm sure he will be thinking of ways to kind of add strings to his ball. but at the same time the basics work for Arsenal they're not going anywhere they are extremely well run they have money in the bank they've had this incredible commercial success that will only continue because of this season

1:10:41James Horncastle:and they are a religion they are a religion as Rog says with a prophet who's a Labrador yeah I think there's only one manager in the Premier League next season who's won the Premier League and that's Mikel Arteta I've seen a little bit of stuff about Arsenal starting a dynasty I think that's probably pushing it a little bit it's maybe a bit premature sure. But my guess is they'll go in as favourites to win the title next season and with good reason. They are in a golden moment, despite what happened tonight, and they have to make the most of it. Yeah, I mean, number one, Arteta's got a new white whale and it's PSG.

1:11:13Number two, we watched Liverpool. We did think, wow, they won last season in a stroll. They've added all this firepower dynasty. I think a lot about what you said at the end of the season, Raw. Enjoy what you have while you have it. I would say for Arsenal fans, savor this. It's incredible what you have been on together. This season, the past five or six in the Arteta regime, have been remarkable. The past 22 years of dreaming and believing, savor it. Focus on what you have, Rod, and what you don't have, and dance and hug and sicken fans of all other teams with complete blessing because it is remarkable.

1:11:58As is Raw, you broadcasting from the stadium. What's been the highlight of Budapest before you go, of Hungary? I found a great stretcher teller and I had a pizza at the eighth best pizzeria in Europe, which is, I suspect, a status that most of Italy would quibble with. Were they bragging? Eighth best? Eighth best in Europe. No, it's a great city, Budapest. It's an absolutely beautiful place. This is a lovely stadium. It was a really compelling final. And it felt the atmosphere in the city over the last two days has been really nice. Lots and lots of fans, lots and lots of shirts, lots and lots of colours.

1:12:33Everything very good-natured. I think it will be the same tonight with Arsenal fans in defeat. It's been a good Champions League final weekend, Rog. That's amazing. We're the Brighton of pizzerias in Europe. That's amazing. That's worth celebrating. I want to give huge thanks to Bank of America, official Bank of US Soccer, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 for supporting the Men in Blazers media network. Discover what's possible in sports and in life. What would you like the power to do? James, you're an amazing human being. Thank you also, you king. At crevasse4514 in the chat says, can't we just World Cup already?

1:13:12It's funny you mention that, Chris, because we've got so much World Cup content about to unleash tomorrow. Another big match breakdown after the US men's national team. Please God, against Senegal, a special episode of The Juice. Presented by Allstate, Clint Dempsey will join us right here after the final whistle of that game. I adore listening to that man. Please let it not be a painful experience. It'll go down 5.30 p.m. Eastern time. Come and be with us right here on YouTube. Then Roar is on his way over here to our loving arms in the United States to take six Cup of Cups previews where we'll go deep on every single group, every single team in this summer's competition.

1:13:52Those will roll out next week. I can't wait to see you, Roy, you beautiful human being. Thank you both. Until tomorrow, let's not take a second of watching football together for granted. Big love, courage.