Erling Haaland and Richarlison lead Arsenal mockery after Gunners lose Champions League final on penalties

Arsenal fans react as Gabriel misses vital Champions League penalty

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GB NEWS/4THEFANSFANPARKINLONDON

Lewis Henderson

By Lewis Henderson


Published: 31/05/2026

- 10:09

Arsenal came agonisingly close to winning their first Champions League

Erling Haaland and Richarlison have led the Arsenal mockery after the Gunners lost the Champions League final on penalties.

Arsenal, who had already secured the Premier League title this season, saw their hopes of a historic double crushed when both Eberechi Eze and Gabriel failed to convert from the spot.


Rivals wasted little time in taunting the north London club following the defeat.

Haaland took to social media, posting a photograph of himself grinning in the sunshine with friends shortly after Gabriel's crucial miss.

Erling Haaland, Arsenal and Richarlison

Erling Haaland and Richarlison have led the Arsenal mockery

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REUTERS/INSTAGRAM/ERLING/RICHARLSION

Tottenham players also seized the opportunity to mock their north London rivals.

Richarlison shared a video of a child laughing on his Instagram story.

Defender Djed Spence responded to an Arsenal post from February, which had shown Bukayo Saka and Cristhian Mosquera outplaying him with the caption "locked up".

Spence quoted the original message with an eyeball and padlock emojis.

Djed Spence tweet

Djed Spence joined in with the mockery

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X/DJEDSPENCE

Crystal Palace also joined the mockery, posting a graphic declaring themselves "European champions" within minutes of the final whistle, having claimed the Europa Conference League title just days earlier.

Chelsea weighed in, taking to Instagram to promote stadium tours at Stamford Bridge, describing their home ground as "London's Home of Trophies".

The Blues' post featured images of their Champions League and Club World Cup silverware, alongside banners inside Stamford Bridge reading "London's finest" and "Pride of London".

It is brutal for Arsenal, who came agonisingly close to winning their first Champions League.

Arsenal

Arsenal came agonisingly close to the Champions League

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REUTERS

The Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta, said the loss was "very tough to accept", adding his side could have "easily" been awarded a penalty for Nuno Mendes' challenge on Noni Madueke in extra-time.

The incident saw both Arteta and Declan Rice be carded for their complaints, with the pair and the rest of the Arsenal fans and players convinced it should have been a spot kick.

Arteta said: "I watched all the penalties in the competition in the last 72 hours to understand what a penalty is and what is not, and that easily can be a penalty."

Rice admitted he was "gutted" to lose on penalties, but spoke of immense pride with his teammates.

Declan Rice

Rice said he was 'gutted' to lose on penalties

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REUTERS

The Englishman told TNT Sports: "It's gutting. It's devastating to lose the Champions League final on penalties.

"We took the game to penalties. I know it's a lottery, but it's football. You can either win on pens, or you lose on pens, and some of the best teams ever have lost on penalties in finals.

"We were on the receiving end of that tonight. Look, we win together, we lose together.

"I'm so proud of this group and these boys. What a season, it's been incredible. I can't speak highly enough of everyone."