Chelsea’s official Instagram account has been accused of trolling Arsenal fans after their social media team posted a photograph of the Champions League trophy at Stamford Bridge — captioned “Come and visit London’s Home of Trophies” — within seconds of Arsenal losing the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in Budapest.
PSG defeated Arsenal 5-4 on penalties after the final ended 1-1 following 120 minutes of play at the Puskás Aréna. Kai Havertz had given Arsenal a dream start, firing past PSG goalkeeper Safonov in just the sixth minute, before Ousmane Dembélé equalised from the penalty spot in the 65th minute. Neither side could find a winner in extra time, and Arsenal ultimately missed the decisive penalty to hand PSG back-to-back Champions League titles.
The defeat was a devastating blow for Arsenal, who had entered the final as Premier League champions and were bidding to win the club’s first ever Champions League trophy under manager Mikel Arteta. PSG became only the second team to win consecutive Champions League titles since the competition was reformatted and rebranded in the early 1990s.
Within hours of the final whistle, the Chelsea FC Instagram account posted an image of the Champions League trophy on a plinth at Stamford Bridge, bearing the words “The Pride of London,” accompanied by the caption: “Come and visit London’s Home of Trophies. Book your Stadium Tour at Stamford Bridge now.” The post, which amassed 16,000 likes and over 1,400 comments, was widely interpreted as a direct dig at Arsenal’s heartbreaking defeat — Chelsea having won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021.
The timing left little ambiguity and the post drew an immediate and fierce reaction from Arsenal supporters online, while Chelsea fans and neutrals praised the social media team’s audacity. One comment on the post, from the account , simply read: “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah” — capturing the mood of many Chelsea followers.
The rivalry between the two London clubs has long spilled over into social media point-scoring, but the precision of Saturday’s post — a stadium tour advertisement deployed at the exact moment Arsenal’s European dream lay in ruins — was regarded by many as a masterclass in football trolling.
