Thierry Henry on Cristhian Mosquera’s performance in the Champions League final:
🗣️ “Even though Arsenal lost the final, I’m not going to sit here and ignore what I saw from Cristhian Mosquera.
That kid… wow.
He was thrown into one of the hardest nights in football, against Kvaratskhelia, and for long spells he handled it like he had been playing finals for years.
His timing in the tackles, his calmness under pressure, the way he wasn’t afraid to step out and engage — that’s not normal for a young defender in a Champions League final.
He was winning duels, reading situations early, and even when PSG tried to isolate him, he kept responding.
Yes, there was that one moment — the tackle that led to the penalty — and people will focus on that because that’s what finals do. They highlight your mistakes.
But if you only look at that, you’re missing the bigger picture.
Because before that moment, he was arguably one of Arsenal’s most composed defenders on the pitch.
And that’s what excites me.
Not perfection but mentality.
You can coach positioning, you can coach technique, but you cannot coach that courage in a final at his age.
Arsenal may have lost the trophy, but they may have found a defender for the next decade.
And that, for me, is something very special.”
🚨 Mesut Özil Slams Referee After Arsenal's Controversial Champions League Final Defeat
🗣️: "I have watched football for many years, and I understand that referees can make mistakes. Nobody expects perfection. But tonight, it genuinely felt like Arsenal were fighting against more than just PSG.
The incident involving Madueke was a clear penalty for me. In any other game, anywhere else on the pitch, that contact is given as a foul immediately. I struggle to understand how the referee saw it and decided there was nothing there. Even more surprising was the lack of intervention. Moments like that can completely change a final.
What frustrated me most was the consistency. Every important decision seemed to go against Arsenal. Small fouls were given one way but not the other. Challenges that deserved bookings were ignored. Every 50-50 call appeared to favour PSG. As a player, that is incredibly difficult because you begin to feel that no matter what you do, the decisions are not going your way.
A Champions League final should be decided by the players, the coaches and the football itself, not by controversial refereeing decisions. Arsenal may not have played their best game, but they still deserved a fair opportunity to compete. When such a clear penalty is not awarded, people are always going to ask questions.
I feel sorry for the players because they worked all season to reach this stage. You can accept losing when the better team wins fairly, but it is much harder to accept when major decisions leave a cloud over the result. For me, Arsenal deserved that penalty on Madueke, and they deserved much better from the officials tonight."
Hand on heart, I dont feel sad at all. Im so fucking proud of this group. Won us a PL after 22 years and took us to a UCL final. Kings who will be remembered forever. 99% of Europe would want our season.
Thank you Mikel and Thank you Arsenal.
I recognise my football club again.