Paris v Arsenal, CL final preview: where to watch, XIs, form, quotes

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·30 May 2026

Paris v Arsenal, CL final preview: where to watch, XIs, form, quotes

What do you need to know?

Only nine teams have completed an unbeaten Champions League campaign. Arsenal are now just one game 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 the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons.

The showpiece 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, in the five meetings between these two clubs in this competition, those remain Paris’s only wins, as Arsenal won in last season’s league phase and the teams also drew twice in 2016/17.

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

Paris, meanwhile, have advanced 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 peak form.

After emphatic wins over Atalanta, Leverkusen, Barcelona and Tottenham early in the season, Paris shifted into another 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 straight 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

Noni Madueke had to leave the field with a hamstring injury near the end of Arsenal’s last league match at Crystal Palace, but Arteta said on Friday in his press conference that he is available. Jurriën Timber, out since March with a groin issue, is also available and could play in place of Mosquera. Ben White is definitely out after suffering a serious knee injury in the match against West Ham on May 10.

What the key figures said

Ousmane Dembélé, Paris forward: “We’re enjoying these moments. We have a young group, a great group eager 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 very top, you have to win these kinds of titles 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 and played football with my friends. On the small pitch next to my house, I dreamed of these moments, of playing in this final and winning it. That dream has stayed with me my whole life.”

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

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