It was the moment that ended Arsenal’s dream of becoming champions of Europe, and now the man at the centre of it has spoken.

With the match locked at 1-1, Gabriel Magalhaes stepped up to take Arsenal’s fifth penalty in the Champions League final shoot-out against Paris Saint Germain, needing to score to keep the Gunners alive. He skied his effort over the crossbar, handing PSG back-to-back Champions League titles and leaving Arsenal to relive the pain they felt when Barcelona beat them 2-1 two decades ago.

For the opening hour, everything went to plan. Kai Havertz gave Arsenal the dream start, smashing in an opener on the break after just six minutes to send the red half of Budapest into raptures. The Gunners were disciplined, organised and dangerous on the counter, exactly as Arteta has always set them up to be.

The holders of the trophy equalised on the 65-minute mark. Ousmane Dembele converted from the spot after Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Arsenal’s fury then grew during extra time, when a perceived foul on Noni Madueke by Nuno Mendes was waved away by referee Daniel Siebert.

With neither side able to find a winner, the tie went to penalties. Eberechi Eze missed first for Arsenal, before David Raya kept the Gunners in it by saving from Mendes. But when Gabriel’s decisive kick soared into the Budapest sky, the match was over.

Gabriel Addresses Arsenal Fans Ahead of Premier League Title Parade

Despite the heartbreak, Arsenal’s players had reason to come together, with the club’s Premier League title parade taking place the very next day. And that proved to be the moment that Gabriel took to Instagram to break his silence on the penalty miss.

It was a message that struck the right note. Honest about the hurt, but not wallowing in it, a reminder that for all the agony of Budapest, this Arsenal side have just delivered their first league title in 22 years and reached a Champions League final for only the second time in the club’s history.

Gabriel himself has been a cornerstone of everything Arteta had built at the back, and his willingness to step up and take the fifth penalty, knowing the pressure that came with it, said something important about his character even if the outcome wasn’t what anyone connected with Arsenal had hoped for.

Arsenal’s Road to the Champions League Final

The scale of Arsenal’s achievement this season deserves to be recognised, even amid the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle. Their Champions League campaign was, for the most part, nothing short of outstanding.

A perfect eight from eight in the league phase, with just four goals conceded, set the tone for what came. They were organised and clinical in equal measure, and the knockout rounds only reinforced that impression. Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid were all dispatched in the knockout rounds without Arsenal suffering a single defeat.

So, losing on penalties in a final, after leading and then being denied what many felt was a legitimate penalty claim in extra time, is about as cruel as football can be. But this Arsenal squad is young, hungry and built to compete at this level for years to come.

Budapest hurt. But it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Rico Verhoeven continues to attract praise for the competitive performance he produced during his challenge for the heavyweight boxing world titles against the defending champion, Oleksandr Usyk, atop a Riyadh Season card that took place on Saturday, the 23rd of May, in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.The kickboxing icon sat down for an exclusive chat with GIVEMESPORT during a week when the entire combat sport community rallied around him, telling him his showing had been “amazing.”The 37-year-old was seemingly presenting Usyk with more problems than he had to find a solution for when he took on more established boxers, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois in recent years.

While reflecting on the event, Verhoeven revealed what Usyk said to him, away from the microphones, immediately after the Ukrainian secured a somewhat fortuitous and cruel 11th round stoppage at the Dutchman’s expense.

‘I Truly Believe a Mistake Was Made’ – Rico Verhoeven on His Loss to Usyk

One of the many ways in which Verhoeven became so beloved in kickboxing wasn’t just because of his extraordinary wins, including two over Badr Hari, or his physical and technical prowess, but, also, because of his mental fortitude. There were numerous examples of Verhoeven looking beaten, only to rally and win moments in later rounds.

We asked Verhoeven whether he felt robbed of the chance to prove that mettle once more during the Usyk fight. Referee Mark Lyson bizarrely withdrew Rico from the event after the bell had already sounded for the end of the 11th round.The challenger would have had a full minute to recover before the 12th and final round, if he were allowed to continue. Excuses, though, weren’t something that Verhoeven wanted to entertain. “Yeah, this might have happened. But I don’t like that,” he admitted.

What Oleksandr Usyk Told Rico Verhoeven After Their Fight

Following the heartbreak of being denied the opportunity to continue, and with Usyk advancing his unblemished record to 25 wins (16 KOs), there was a moment that both fighters shared in the ring.

The pair explained the typical post-fight pleasantries, before Usyk shared his honest five-word assessment of Verhoeven’s performance, telling him:

“You’re such a good fighter.”

Usyk’s comment contradicts his statement on social media in the hours following the fight, where he joked that he had deliberately taken it easy on Rico to make the fight last longer.

Because of the way the fight finished, and the way in which Verhoeven managed to leave a lasting impression on boxing fans, a second fight between them is not out of the equation.It’s a rematch that the sport’s financier, Turki Alalshikh, also wants to make happen, providing Usyk doesn’t honor a mandatory challenge from the deserving fighter, Agit Kabayel.Other fighters Verhoeven is open to competing against include Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua (pending availability), and Deontay Wilder. He ruled out fighting Tyson Fury, though, whom he’s sparred with and trained with, through his coach, Peter Fury.

The 2026 World Cup is almost upon us, and to the surprise of nobody, that means big debates are being sparked about the greatest players to have performed on the grandest stage of them all.

Lionel Messi cemented himself as the greatest of all-time in 2022 to many people when he lifted the trophy for the first time in his career for Argentina, while Cristiano Ronaldo would likely put himself right back in that conversation if he were to lead Portugal to the crown this summer.

But back in 2022, before Messi had been crowned as a world champion, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards were asked to name their top ten greatest ever World Cup players, and their lists were incredibly similar, having the same players, just in a different order for the most part.

Alan Shearer’s 10 Greatest World Cup Players

Shearer kicked off his list with one of the best of all-time, Johan Cruyff, in the number ten spot, and said he would be likely be higher if he had played in more than one World Cup tournament. Many consider him to be the best player to never win it, and he makes Shearer’s list as a result.

Surprisingly, the former England captain put his good friend Gary Lineker in at ninth, citing his excellent record in the tournament as his reason.

“He made 12 World Cup appearances and scored 10 goals,” he said. “He won the Golden Boot and made the quarter-finals and semi-finals. In no way am I saying Lineker is a better player than Cruyff, it’s just his World Cup record puts him ninth.”

Two-time finalist and one-time winner Zinedine Zidane came in at eighth, while Germany legend Gerd Muller, and former England captain Bobby Moore narrowly missed out on a top five spot.

“Fourteen goals in 13 World Cup appearances, 10 in one World Cup. Wow,” he said about Muller, before explaining his reasoning for Moore.

“He captained England at 22. I have seen footage of him, but to be made captain after his 12th cap aged 22, that says how good he must have been. He also won the World Cup, amazing.”

Franz Beckenbauer, the first man to win the World Cup as a player and manager rounds off the top five, before Lotthar Matthaus got the nod in fourth, having featured in a record five World Cup tournaments.

In third, Shearer had controversial Argentina legend Diego Maradona, having won it in 1986 as the undisputed best player, but he missed out on a top two spot to two Brazilian icons.

“He was unbelievable, we have talked about Ronaldo so many times. Braziliance. Another reason I had him second was 19 appearances, 15 goals and five assists,” he said about Ronaldo Nazario, who was the runner-up behind the obvious top choice, Pele, who remains the only man to have ever won three World Cups.

“You can’t imagine coming from Brazil at that age, that pressure. They are expected to win every tournament, every match they play in, he has super stardom wherever he goes. Amazing player.”

Micah Richards’ 10 Greatest World Cup Players

While Richards’ list also included his broadcast colleague Lineker, he had him at tenth, citing his excellent scoring record as a reason. Ahead of him in ninth was England legend Bobby Moore, although he admitted that he had only seen videos of the iconic defender, who skippered the Three Lions to glory in 1966..

Beckenbauer then comes in at eighth for the former Man City star, while his German colleague Muller also came in at seventh on his list, just like Shearer’s. In sixth, Netherlands legend Cruyff got the nod, with Richards describing him as ‘special’.

Opening Richards’ top five was Real Madrid icon Zidane, who was described as “technically, one of the best ever” in his reasoning for the placement.

In fourth, the former right-back went with Matthaus, after he claimed victory in one of his five World Cup appearances, before naming Brazil phenom Ronaldo in third.

Maradona was the man to get the nod in second place, but Richards agreed with Shearer when it came to top spot, handing it to Pele, admitting that he “had to be the winner”.