Paris v Arsenal, Champions League final preview: watch, XIs, form, quotes | OneFootball

Only nine teams have completed an unbeaten Champions League campaign. Arsenal are now one match away from becoming the next. Standing in their way is Paris, the reigning champion and the first defending champion to reach the final since Real Madrid in 2016/17 and 2017/18.

The headline match at the Puskás Aréna takes us back to last season’s semifinal, when Luis Enrique’s side won both legs and beat Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate, before crushing Inter 5-0 in the final and lifting the trophy for the first time. However, of the five meetings between these two clubs in this competition, those remain Paris’s only victories, as Arsenal won in last season’s league phase and the teams drew twice in 2016/17.

Their paths to Budapest have followed very different rhythms. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have built their campaign on defensive control, keeping nine clean sheets and conceding only four goals in the league phase. Standout wins over Atleti, Bayern München and Inter were followed by tighter knockout ties against Leverkusen, Sporting CP and, once again, Atleti.

Paris, meanwhile, have moved forward with great attacking freedom. Their 44 goals leave them just one short of Barcelona’s all-time single-season record (1999/2000), with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia a key figure behind that surge. Hard-working and unpredictable, the Georgian has contributed ten goals and six assists over the course of the season; seven of those goals have come in the knockout stage, where he is hitting top form.

After emphatic wins against Atalanta, Leverkusen, Barcelona and Tottenham early in the season, Paris shifted into a higher gear in the knockout stage, sweeping aside Chelsea and Liverpool before a thrilling semifinal, already a modern classic, against Bayern München.

Arsenal’s rise under Arteta has been gradual but remarkable: quarterfinals in 2023/24, semifinals in 2024/25, and now the club’s first final since 2005/06. For Arsenal, victory would crown a historic campaign and bring the trophy to north London for the first time, while for Paris it would mean a second European crown, making them the first French club to win two consecutive titles and further cementing Luis Enrique’s legacy at the club.

Arsenal: David Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Ødegaard; Saka, Gyökeres, Trossard

What they said

Ousmane Dembélé, Paris forward: “We’re enjoying these moments. We have a young squad, a great group that wants to win titles. We really want to win everything, whether it’s the Champions League, the league or domestic trophies. If you want to be at the top, you have to win this kind of title more than once.”

Marquinhos, Paris captain: “It’s always important to stay motivated. This year, once again, we’ve shown that. These are key moments. Once you win it, once you taste that success, you really want to experience it again. The emotion, the feeling in the dressing room; we are competitors.”

Luis Enrique, Paris coach: “I’ve loved every match we’ve played in the competition this season. We’ve shown, especially in those eight knockout matches, what a good team we are. We had to suffer in those games, but we showed what we’re made of. We have to enjoy playing these kinds of matches, because you never know when we’ll get to experience occasions like this again.”

Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal midfielder: “I’ve dreamed of winning these trophies since I was a child playing football with my friends. On the little pitch next to my house, I dreamed of moments like this, of playing in this final and winning it. That dream has stayed with me my whole life.”

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal midfielder: “We have the hunger we need going into the match. We know we can make history and that’s enough motivation for us. I’ve lived this journey with the club, with all its ups and downs. We’ve seen what it means to the fans… But we have to stay focused on this match, because it could make the celebration [on Sunday in London] even more amazing.”

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: “It has been very good preparation and we deserve to be here. And we also want to deserve to win the final. Paris are the favorites, but we want to take that right away from them. We’ve fought for so long to win the Premier League and now we want to win again. We have fought and we have the level required. So I expect a lot of courage and an unbreakable desire to win.”

PSG vs. Arsenal, LIVE: where to watch on TV and ONLINE

The event can be watched live in Argentina on Fox Sports:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.