PSG v Arsenal – Ødegaard’s cutting words before the final

In partnership with

Parisfans.fr

·30 Mei 2026

PSG v Arsenal – Ødegaard’s cutting words before the final

This Saturday at 6 p.m. (broadcast on Canal+ and M6), Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal at Budapest’s Puskas Arena in the final of the 2025-2026 Champions League. At a press conference, the Gunners’ midfielder Martin Ødegaard (27) spoke about this match and the Parisian opponent.

Ødegaard: “This dream feels more real than ever”

“This dream feels more real than ever. We have achieved something wonderful. Now, we no longer have that pressure. We have silenced those who said we were not capable of doing it. PSG are a very good team with plenty of qualities, but we are ready and we are going to play the football we know how to play. We want to make history even more and, when you have tasted victory and lifted another trophy, you know how good it feels. We want to do it again. The difference in preparation time for this final between PSG and Arsenal? We have had a week to recover and prepare for this match. A game like this will not be decided by playing time, but by moments of quality and by the team’s organization.”

Martin Ødegaard first places this final in a personal journey. The Arsenal captain is not speaking only about a sporting event, but about an old, almost defining dream that is finally becoming reality. It is a powerful media narrative: that of the player reaching, at last, the stage he imagined as a child.

Video OneFootball

But his message goes further. By explaining that Arsenal “no longer have that pressure,” Ødegaard conveys the idea of a group freed by its title as champions of England. The Gunners present themselves as a team already validated, already strengthened by criticism they have moved beyond. Ahead of facing Paris Saint-Germain, this confidence becomes a very clear public message.

Moreover, Patrick Vieira sent a message to this Arsenal team.

Ødegaard: “Do something even they did not manage to do”

“He is a legend. Receiving a message from him is very special. We have the chance to do something that even they did not manage to do.”

The support of former greats further reinforces this momentum. Thierry Henry wrote to Saka, Patrick Vieira to Ødegaard. For Arsenal, these messages are not just signs of encouragement: they are a reminder that this final goes beyond the match itself. It concerns this team’s place in the club’s history.

Ødegaard’s words are revealing. To do what even the great generations of the past did not achieve is an immense ambition. It can inspire Arsenal, but it can also create a particular kind of tension. By focusing so much on the history waiting to be written, the Gunners will have to avoid forgetting the immediate obstacle: a Paris Saint-Germain side used to turning this kind of detail into an advantage.

In this media sequence, Arsenal are therefore showing very carefully built confidence. Ødegaard speaks of the dream and the pressure gone. Saka speaks of the supporters and the collective emotion. Henry and Vieira give the whole thing historical depth. PSG, for their part, will not need to respond with words. Above all, they will have to break this narrative on the pitch.

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