2026 UEFA Champions League final: Marquinhos reveals reason behind Gabriel gesture after decisive penalty miss - ‘We need him’

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Marquinhos drew widespread praise for his reaction to Gabriel's penalty shootout miss in Saturday's UEFA Champions League final shoot-out between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.

Watch: Arsenal HEARTBREAK as PSG win UCL final after Gabriel miss

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Arsenal forward Kai Havertz scored a sixth-minute opener in Budapest on Saturday before Ousmane Dembele fired PSG level from the spot midway through the second half.

Ultimately, it needed a penalty shoot-out to separate the two teams at the Puskas Arena as the Parisian giants and The Gunners played out a 1-1 draw.

Eberechi Eze missed the target with his spot-kick, while Nuno Mendes saw his effort saved by David Raya.

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And after Lucas Beraldo scored PSG's fifth penalty, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel needed to score to take the shoot-out to sudden death.

However, the 28-year-old blazed his effort over the crossbar from 12 yards as Luis Enrique became the second head coach to win back-to-back UEFA Champions League trophies since its 1992 inception.

As the PSG squad wheeled away in celebration, captain Marquinhos instead went to console his fellow Brazil defender.

"I'm gutted for Gabriel. The first person who went up to him after he missed was Marquinhos," Ally McCoist said on TNT Sports.

"His Brazilian centre-back pal. He went right up and gave him the biggest cuddle you'll ever see. It will mean nothing to him at this moment in time but what a touch it was."

'It was a very difficult moment for him'

And Marquinhos has since detailed what he said to the Premier League title-winning centre-back in the aftermath of the spot-kick heartbreak, recalling his own experience of fluffing his lines from 12 yards in the process.

"As soon as he missed that penalty, I remembered what it felt like for me when I missed against Croatia to knock us out of the last World Cup," Marquinhos told reporters, with the defender having missed in a 4-2 shoot-out loss to Croatia in the last eight of Qatar 2022.

Highlights: Arsenal agony as PSG retain Champions League crown

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"It was a very difficult moment for him, a big responsibility. I've been through it myself and know how tough it is when that happens to you as a player.

"You have to be very strong to get out of a moment like that - and I know how hard that is.

"Gabriel really wanted to win this title and had all that pressure on him, knowing that if he missed, that dream had gone for him and we would be the champions.

"So I just wanted to take a few minutes out of my celebrations to reserve this time for him, to hug him and wish him well.

"I told him that I've been through this moment and I know how difficult it is, but that he can bounce back from it.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"Gabriel has played an amazing season for Arsenal, proved he is one of the best defenders in the world and shown everyone he's a great player.

"He did not deserve to have all that weight, from that moment of defeat, on his shoulders.

"And in Brazil, we need him for the World Cup. I just wanted to hug him, to show him how much he is valued by us and congratulate him for everything else he has done this season."

Both Marquinhos and Gabriel have been called up to the Brazil national team for the 2026 World Cup, which gets underway on Thursday, 11 June.

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