Arsenal Can Seize Glory in the Champions League Final | OneFootball

The sun is shining on the Danube; Arsenal shirts are already everywhere in Budapest and the city’s famous fan zones are filling with supporters who sense they could be about to witness history.

On Saturday night, beneath the lights of the Puskás Arena, Arsenal will attempt to become champions of Europe for the first time.

Chasing the Elusive European Crown

For a club now with 14 league titles, numerous domestic trophies and an Invincibles season that remains unique in English football, one glaring omission has always remained. Twenty years after losing their only previous Champions League final – in Paris of all places – Arsenal have another chance to claim the biggest prize in club football.

The symbolism is impossible to ignore.

The beaten finalists of Paris 2006, when they lost narrowly to mighty Barcelona after having keeper Jens Lehmann sent off early on,  now return seeking redemption against Paris Saint-Germain, the club that have become European football’s dominant force under Luis Enrique and arrive in Hungary as deserved favorites.

Underdogs, But Only Just

Perhaps 60-40 favourites rather than overwhelming ones.

PSG may possess the most devastating attack in Europe, but Arsenal boast the continent’s best defensive record. Mikel Arteta’s side have already conquered Manchester City domestically, won the Premier League by seven points and reached Budapest without losing a single Champions League match this season.

As Arsenal legend Martin Keown points out, that achievement alone deserves recognition.

“Arsenal haven’t lost a game yet in this season’s Champions League,” he said. “They must be really proud of that. It can quickly be taken away, by the way, but winning would really cement them in folklore at Arsenal and that is a massive incentive for the players.”

The prize is larger than simply winning a trophy.

“They’ll be the first ever winners of the Champions League so, for me, they’re the ‘Number Ones’, not the ‘Unforgettables’ or the ‘Invincibles’, they’re the ‘Number Ones’,” said Keown. “And it puts them there because no-one else has won it.”

A Buoyant Mood

That possibility has transformed the atmosphere around Arsenal over the past week.

More than 100,000 supporters gathered around the Emirates Stadium after Manchester City’s failure to beat Bournemouth confirmed Arsenal as Premier League champions. Thousands more celebrated with the players and trophy after Sunday’s final-day victory at Crystal Palace.

Now many of those supporters have travelled to Hungary’s beautiful capital for what could become the greatest weekend in the club’s history.

Arteta certainly sounds convinced.

“We have an amazing opportunity to write new history in our football club, and we are convinced that we’re going to do it,” he said this week. “We have come to Budapest fully convinced we can be champions of Europe.”

The manager’s confidence reflects the mood inside the squad.

Kai Havertz, who scored the winning goal in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League triumph, believes winning the Premier League has given Arsenal an extra edge.

“We have finally won the Premier League,” he said. “I think that gives us a big boost as well.”

Noni Madueke spoke of the chance “to do that for the first time in the history of the club”, while Mikel Merino described Arsenal as “one game away from making history”.

How Will Arsenal Play?

The biggest intrigue now surrounds Arteta’s team selection.

Does he risk Jurriën Timber after the Dutch defender returned to training this week? Does teenage sensation Myles Lewis-Skelly keep his place in midfield or does Martin Zubimendi’s experience get the nod? Does Havertz’s pedigree in major finals outweigh Viktor Gyökeres’ goalscoring form?

And perhaps most importantly, how does Arteta approach the game itself?

Does Arsenal’s best defence in Europe attempt to control the occasion and contain PSG’s frightening attacking talent? Or do they take the game to the French champions from the first whistle?

Arteta has spent almost six years rebuilding Arsenal for moments like this.

The soul of the club, he once said, had been lost when he arrived in 2019. On Saturday evening he has the chance to complete one of the most remarkable rebuilds English football has seen.

For Arsenal, the reward is simple.

Win, and they become European champions for the first time.

Win, and they become immortal.