The night in Paris still carried a pulse, the echoes of the match lingering in every streetlight and every taxi engine humming outside.
For Arsenal, though, the celebration was cut short.
Mikel Arteta had made his decision clear: no drawn-out dinners, no champagne detours.
The Champions League final was still weeks away, but the Premier League, their Premier League, could be on the line in just four days against Liverpool.
Every hour mattered, and his players needed rest, not late nights.
They would fly back to London tonight.
Inside the team bus that pulled away from the Parc des Princes and rolled toward Charles de Gaulle Airport, the mood was tired but quietly content.
Some of the players slouched in their seats with hoodies pulled over their heads and earbuds in while a few scrolled on their phones, replaying clips from the game, their own touches or Izan's sharp bursts down the wing, sharing small laughs.
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