{"id":705125,"date":"2026-05-31T04:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/705125\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T04:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:19:09","slug":"happy-either-way-arsenal-fans-find-zen-attitude-to-champions-league-final-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/705125\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Happy either way\u2019: Arsenal fans find zen attitude to Champions League final | Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The streets of Holloway, usually bustling with families and trolly-dragging shoppers, were uncharacteristically quiet on Saturday afternoon. But shortly after the clock struck 5pm, loud roars echoed through the north London high street, located a short walk away from the Emirates stadium, as Arsenal<\/a> walked on to the pitch for the Champions League final.<\/p>\n

While the team, still basking in the glory of their Premier League win last week, were in Budapest for their final showdown against Paris Saint-Germain, Gunners \u2013 or Gooners, as they are colloquially known \u2013 came out to support the team on their home turf.<\/p>\n

A tweak to the Argos shop sign on the Holloway Road. Photograph: Sammy Gecsoyler\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The Argos sign on Holloway Road was fitted with a banner after the letter r to form the word Ar-senal and pubs in the area were heaving with fans clad in red and white. The tense silence was broken mere minutes later when Kai Havertz scored a goal barely five minutes into the game.<\/p>\n

Arsenal fans Lucy and Gregory. Photograph: Sammy Gecsoyler\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Lucy, 37, and Gregory, 48, travelled from Paris to Holloway for the final, though sadly they couldn\u2019t make it inside the Victoria Tavern pub to view the game, which was heaving with fans. \u201cThe mood is amazing,\u201d said Lucy, who has been a Gooner for 30 years. \u201cWe went to the Emirates and there was lots of people.\u201d She said she connected with the team because of its strong pedigree of French players including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.<\/p>\n

Gregory wasn\u2019t too hopeful that Arsenal could pull off a double win. \u201cPSG is a good team,\u201d he said. Lucy did not see it as a make-or-break result: \u201cI will be happy either way but more happy if we win the Champions League.\u201d<\/p>\n

Issac, 42, was also waiting outside the pub, with fleeting hope that he would make it inside. He had travelled to Holloway from Ghana to celebrate with other Gunners on home turf. \u201cIt was the best thing ever,\u201d he said of Arsenal\u2019s Premier League win, the first time the team had taken the trophy in 22 years. Like Lucy and Gregory, he was already delighted with what Arsenal had achieved this season. \u201cI\u2019ll be disappointed but we\u2019ve got a Premier League win which is more important to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jack Davenport. Photograph: Sammy Gecsoyler\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Most pubs around the stadium were at full capacity and a short bus ride away in Angel Islington, Gooner fever was also in full swing. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m a mix of nervous and excited,\u201d said 25-year-old Jack Devonport about the final, who had travelled into the area to celebrate with his fellow Gunners. Though, like near the Emirates, most pubs were already packed.<\/p>\n

He has been a lifelong Gooner. \u201cI\u2019ve seen everything. I was alive for the last Champions League final but I don\u2019t remember it. I\u2019ve seen us losing to Birmingham in the cup finals. I\u2019ve seen the 6-0 on the Chelsea game. I\u2019ve seen all the negatives and finally it feels like we\u2019re at the pinnacle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When Arsenal were declared victors of the Premier League<\/a> for the first time in 22 years last week, Devonport said he felt \u201crelief more than anything\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing I\u2019ve learned about football is that it isn\u2019t always fair. Sometimes you can be the best team with the best squad but luck doesn\u2019t always go your way,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t always get what you deserve in football but to finally get over the line is everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arsenal\u2019s smashing performance this season has meant more than mere personal satisfaction to Devonport. \u201cThe last time we won the league I was five years old so to be able to watch every game this season with my dad has been massive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo watch all the games together, to relive what he had when he was younger with his son is amazing. It\u2019s something we\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the evening began well for Arsenal with Kai Havertz firing them into a sixth-minute lead. PSG, however, equalised courtesy of an Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 penalty in the second half to force extra time and subsequently a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

There was heartbreak in the end for the red half of north London with Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalh\u00e3es missing their spot-kicks as the French side won 4-3 in the shootout to retain their Champions League crown<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The streets of Holloway, usually bustling with families and trolly-dragging shoppers, were uncharacteristically quiet on Saturday afternoon. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-705125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}