Arsenal legend tips Mikel Arteta to eclipse Invincibles' legacy as Champions League glory beckons | OneFootball

Gunners can establish themselves as club’s greatest ever side in Budapest

Martin Keown believes victory in the Champions League final would take this Arsenal side past the Invincibles in the club's history books.

Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday night as they look to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.

Thierry Henry has said Arteta's squad will go down as 'The Unforgettables' if they can beat PSG. The Frenchman was captain two decades ago in Paris when Arsenal were beaten by Barcelona in their only previous Champions League final appearance.

The club’s history of European heartbreak is why Keown, who was part of the Invincibles, says the current group have the chance to go down as the greatest Arsenal team of all time.

“They’ll be winners, that’s what they will be - and that will do for me," Keown said.

Arsenal were beaten by Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final

(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“And they’ll be the first ever winners of the Champions League. So for me, they’re the ‘Number Ones’. They’re not just the ‘Unforgettables’ or the ‘Invincibles’. They’re the ‘Number Ones’.

“It puts them as number one, because no one else has won it.

“We’ve been disappointing in Europe. There was a Cup Winners’ Cup competition that fell through our hands. The UEFA Cup as well, Galatasaray beating us on penalties.

“So the club needs to now do something major in Europe."

Arsenal were beaten in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season by PSG, who went on to win the competition.

However, this group of Arsenal players are now in a different place mentally after finally getting over the line domestically.

“One thing I found, when you hear that music, that Queen music - you know, We Are The Champions," Keown said.

Paris Saint-Germain knocked Arsenal out of last season’s Champions League but the two sides will meet again in this year’s final

Getty Images

"It does something to you. You start believing that you can achieve anything.

Arsenal were given time off to celebrate last week, after Manchester City's draw with Bournemouth confirmed them as champions.

There was another party on Sunday night after the trophy was lifted at Selhurst Park and those celebrations continued into the night.

The players returned to training on Tuesday and will fly out to Budapest on Thursday as they now flick the switch back to full intensity.

“The longer you’ve got, the better," Keown said.

Martin Keown will be part of TNT Sport’s Champions League final coverage

TNT Sports

“I hope there’s enough gap between that celebration, which turns you into a different animal.

“You’ve got to get angry again, get angry to win. But I’m pretty certain they’re going through that now."

Jurrien Timber was one of those in attendance at Selhurst Park but not in the matchday squad.

The Dutchman has been out for more than two months after picking up a groin injury in the dramatic win over Everton in March.

Timber said last week that he has "hope" of being involved against PSG and Arsenal are desperate for him to be fit.

Whoever starts at right-back for the Gunners is almost certain to be up against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has 10 goals and six assists in the Champions League alone this season.

“[Timber] is maybe the one player in the world of football who could handle him," Keown said.

“So because of that he will be given a bit more time. Ordinarily, somebody who’d been out that long, you’d say: ‘Okay, it’s too late’.

“Because he hasn’t played for, what, 10 games, 11 games? But he’s quite a unique player.

“The way that he has that mobility and the way that he’s able to pinch the ball, and he’s very aggressive and very much a contact defender.

“PSG’s wingers are really aggressive when they take the game to you, and you have to be able to match that.”

Martin Keown was speaking ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final, when he will be part of the coverage exclusively live on TNT Sports and HBO Max this Saturday 31st May.