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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

Arsenal feel the love after Arteta’s Bigger Cup masterplan falls short

Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal players on board the open-top bus.
Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal players party through their Bigger Cup pain on Sunday. Photograph: Toby Shepheard/AFP/Getty Images

PENS, PAIN AND PARTYING

In recent weeks, there has been endless discourse on why so many people hate Arsenal. Yet, yesterday’s parade in the cultural melting pot of north London proved that plenty of people out there really, really, really love them. Due in no small part to the fact that he couldn’t head his penalty and none of his teammates were blocking the PSG goalkeeper, Gabriel Magalhães’ miss from the spot meant the Gunners came up agonisingly short in their latest bid to win Bigger Cup. That didn’t stop the thick end of a million Arsenal fans of every age, stripe and shade from making the pilgrimage to Islington to worship their vanquished heroes. With the Premier League trophy already in the bag, the general mood ratio of unbridled joy to crushing disappointment was about 75-25, a statistic many will recognise as being almost identical to the previous evening’s possession stats in the Puskas Arena.

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