Arteta insists Arsenal must “earn the right” to complete the double with maiden Champions League | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has insisted Premier League champions Arsenal are hungrier than ever for silverware but must “earn the right” as they hope to secure a maiden Champions League trophy against holders Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.

The Gunners ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title last week and have the chance to clinch a landmark double for the first time in the club’s history if they can find a way past the French champions.

But Arteta dismissed any suggestion the titanic clash with Ligue 1 winners PSG is in any way a free hit for his side, despite their euphoria in finally getting their hands on the trophy at Selhurst Park on the final day of the season.

“We are here because we’ve earned the right to be here,” he said, “in the manner we have played and performed in the competition – and tomorrow, on the field, we’re going to have to earn the right to go and win the trophy.

“They [PSG] are defending the trophy. They were the last ones to earn the right to lift that trophy and they’re the champions – we are here to take that away from them.”

“The ambition is bigger. We have one [trophy] and we want the second one. That’s all we’ve been talking about. We have the opportunity to write a new chapter in the history of this football club.”

PSG boss Enrique is a former team-mate of Arteta’s, having both spent time in the ranks at Barcelona, and the Arsenal manager was keen to heap praise on his opposite number.

“He’s always been a reference since he was a player because he was very special and then when he became a coach,” he explained.

“If you look at his journey when he left Spain and went abroad, in particular what he’s done with this PSG team you can see his fingerprints all over it. The identity, the mentality, the way the players play, so he’s been an inspiration.

“They want more. I think going through those moments brings you a different kind of desire because [if] you lift it, you know exactly how it feels and you want to reproduce that feeling as many times as possible.”

Arsenal are seeking to avenge their semi-final defeat to Luis Enrique’s side in last year’s competition as well as their 2-1 defeat against Barcelona in the 2006 final, and the Gunners’ boss is confident his team can ensure victory this time around.

“There’s a lot to take from [the games] but it’s true we’ve evolved in a different way and they’ve evolved in a different way,” he said. “We took some learnings and some things that we have to do better and I’m sure that will happen tomorrow.

“When I watched the games back I was very pleased with what I saw and I was even more confident that the feelings I had before about how close and unlucky we were in a lot of moments, not to go through to the final.”

The Gunners finished top of the league phase after going unbeaten in eight games and triumphed over Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, and Sporting Lisbon in the knockout rounds, while their final opponents finished 11th and had to navigate the playoff round.

Arteta continued by reporting that Arsenal’s preparation has been “really focused and positive” ahead of the final on Saturday, and that his team arrive in Hungary with the mission of ending PSG’s title defense at the final hurdle.

Arsenal go head-to-head with Paris Saint-Germain at the Puskas Arena in Budapest at 17:00 (BST) on Saturday 30th of May, with live coverage available on TNT Sports via the streaming service HBO Max.

It is set to be the first ever Champions League final to not be available on free-to-watch television, unless UEFA acts as recommended in an open letter by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and reverses its decision at the last minute.