It’s here. Today is the day. One match and the current Champions League holders, Paris St. Germain, stand between Arsenal and history. In a short while, the Gunners will take the field in Budapest for the newest “biggest match in club history” — a Champions League final.
European glory is the only thing that has eluded Arsenal Football Club. They suffered an ignominious 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League final. They lost to Barcelona 2-1 in the 2006 Champions League final. That’s the sum total of all Arsenal’s continental final appearances. Played two, lost two. Time write a new story.
Arsenal against PSG has some familiar plot points. After all, the Gunners face down the petrostate wealth of Manchester City in the Premier League annually. Boy, would I like to knock off both of ‘em in the same season.
On the pitch, it’s the classic sports story of attack vs. defense. PSG have the best attack in Europe. Arsenal have the best defense. When the two clubs met in last season’s Champions League semifinal, the French side advanced. 3-1 to PSG on aggregate. Victory to the attack, right? The tie was more complex than that. Gianliugi Donnarumma was outstanding and arguably won the tie for PSG much more so than their attack did. The Italian isn’t in goal for them anymore. We’ll see if Arsenal can test Matvei Safonov in the same way and if the Russian is up for the challenge.
It almost feels silly to mention it, but set pieces (corners, really) might make the difference for the Gunners. We know how dangerous they are, and in a one-off match with fine margins, you take any edge you can generate. Keep an eye on how tightly the referee calls things in the box. The referee should have his work cut out for him in discerning fair from foul. I’d expect PSG to do a decent bit of flopping in an attempt to nullify Arsenal’s advantage. It’s what they did last year.
Arsenal winning the Premier League title settled the nerves. at least for us supporters. I’d like to think it did the same for the squad, to the extent they suffer from them. They got their silverware, silenced the critics, and put to bed the possibilities of an uncomfortable summer with the potential for unpleasant changes. Hopefully that relaxes and frees them to play the confident, resolute, all-phases football we saw when they were at their best.
Arsenal playing with house money, to an extent. They come into today’s match against PSG the underdogs. People are expecting the Parisians’ plethora of flashy attacking talent to run roughshod over the Gunners on their way to back-to-back Champions League titles.
Everyone is underestimating Arsenal. Just as they have all season. The pundits picked Liverpool to win the title then jumped ship to backing Manchester City to hunt Arsenal down when Arne Slot’s side fell apart. Arsenal, not PSG, finished first in the League Phase. Arsenal, not PSG, are unbeaten in the CL this season.
At the same time, the pressure is still on. The Champions League is a brutally difficult competition and knockout football is always unpredictable and often unkind. As good as your squad might be, so many things have to go right to make a final. You never know when you’ll be back. Just look at Manchester City. They lost the final in ‘21, made the SF in ‘22, won in ‘23, and haven’t advanced beyond the the QF since.
Arsenal are fully fit* coming into the match. Jurrien Timber, who has missed two months with a groin problem, was declared fit enough to start by Mikel Arteta (he’ll start on the bench, though). Noni Madueke, who has been dealing with a minor knock, is good to go. The same goes for Riccardo Calafiori. Mikel Merino, whose season was in jeopardy from a broken bone in his foot that required surgery in late January, returned to the pitch last week and is on the bench. Ben White is out with a knee injury that will force him to miss the World Cup.
PSG have fewer injury concerns. Both Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele are fit and starting. Keep an eye on both during the match, though. The Moroccan fullback pulled his hamstring against Bayern Munich last month, which can be a tricky injury for a player asked to sprint so frequently. Dembele has a spotty injury record generally, so it’s always a higher level of concern when he’s carrying something.
Arsenal
WHO: Arsenal vs Paris St. Germain
WHAT: Champions League Final
WHERE: Puskás Arena, Budapest, Hungary
WHEN: Saturday, May 30th, 9:00am PT | 12:00pm ET | 5:00pm GMT
HOW TO WATCH: Broadcast on CBS. Streaming on Paramount+ app.
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