PSG v Arsenal LIVE: Champions League final build-up as Arteta faces huge fitness call and opponents include key name in squad | OneFootball

PSG v Arsenal predictions

Do you have a bold prediction?

Miguel Delaney, chief football writer: Arsenal to quieten this raucous PSG attack. PSG will come out and press like crazy.

Richard Jolly, senior football correspondent: Arsenal will try and score from a set-piece.

Jack Rathborn, sports editor: Piero Hincapie has been sensational and will lock down Desire Doue to give the French forward a different final taste after his player of the match performance in last season’s 5-0 win over Inter Milan.

Kieran Jackson, senior sports writer: I’ll say right now, this is a boorish take… so Arsenal (and England) fans, look away now! The last time the Champions League final took place before a summer World Cup, an English side (Liverpool) were the underdogs against the defending champions (Real Madrid) in 2018 in Kyiv. Sound familiar?

On that night, Liverpool’s star player – and left-footed right winger – suffered a devastating first-half injury after tangling with Sergio Ramos. Mohamed Salah made the World Cup but was barely fit. Will Bukayo Saka make it through unscathed? Perhaps. But my bold prediction is that either he or Declan Rice will suffer some kind of injury, just to place us all on tenterhooks ahead of this summer’s Finals.

Alex Pattle, sports writer: I feel the need to be a little more outlandish than my colleagues... History repeats itself and haunts Arsenal: David Raya, like Jens Lehmann 20 years ago, gets sent off and costs the Gunners the European Cup.

Arsenal v PSG is a battle of contrasts, with a much deeper significance

Arsenal, if you listen to some at the club, may now have their chance at “revenge”. They felt they were actually better than Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s semi-final, which may still baffle many people who’ve watched the Qatari project since.

The rest of Europe might just want a better crescendo than the semi-final ultimately offered, and perhaps that the Champions League final has been due for some time. There hasn’t been a great final in years, arguably since 2005, despite claims from 2008, 2012 and 2017.

That has meant the semi-finals have often represented the absolute peak of club football, even if this year’s didn’t reach the heights that had been anticipated.

Arsenal planning renovation of Emirates Stadium after Premier League triumph

Arsenal are currently “putting together a plan” to renovate the Emirates Stadium, with chief executive Richard Garlick leading talks, according to co-chair Josh Kroenke.

The new English champions have been considering some kind of evolution for a few years, especially since the recent rebirth of the club has meant they could easily sell tens of thousands more tickets than the current 60,704 capacity. The stadium is already 20 years old and now operates in a different financial world to when it opened.

“Rich Garlick is leading those conversations on our end right now,” Kroenke said in a sit-down with media. “We have several new members of the board that are plugged into that, that do those operations for us in the States. They’re putting together a plan right now to renovate the Emirates

“We’re starting these exercises with some of our advisers but the Emirates has been an amazing stadium for us. I think we took it to a different level this year. I think that’s credit to Mikel [Arteta] and those players.

“But there’s some character that I want to make sure we’re preserving and bringing back to the ground as well. I think we can do that in a very elegant manner that’s really to the benefit of Arsenal. We do this stuff in the States in our facilities and our teams. We take great pride in it so I think we have a chance to come over and really give the Arsenal supporters an elevated matchday experience from where they are right now.”

(Getty)

Jack Rathborn29 May 2026 13:15

Kai Havertz on injury hell, Champions League dreams and the ‘big moment’ that turned Arsenal’s season

There were plenty of moments which filled Arsenal with belief that this would be a historic season, like the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in November in a battle of perfect records in the Champions League, or the 4-1 thrashing of Aston Villa around Christmas, or hammering Tottenham in both north London derbies, just because they could.

But Kai Havertz pinpoints a defeat, rather than a victory, as the catalyst for a season which has taken Arsenal to the Premier League title and the Champions League final in Budapest on Saturday.

“I think a big one was the Carabao Cup final when we lost against City,” Havertz says. “It was a moment where we felt like we could do so much better and there was so much more in this team, and everyone needed to lift their spirits. There was the international break after and we just said to ourselves that we need to come back stronger.

Kai Havertz on injury hell and the ‘big moment’ that turned Arsenal’s season

Interview: The German missed the first half of the campaign with a knee injury but returned to play an important role in their title win – and has invaluable experience ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final

Lawrence Ostlere29 May 2026 12:46

PSG v Arsenal predictions: Who will lift the Champions League?

Miguel Delaney, chief football writer: Arsenal. I think they pose challenges, especially in team structure, that Paris Saint-Germain just haven't had this season. Physicality could well be key. 1-0.

Richard Jolly, senior football correspondent: Paris Saint-Germain - Arsenal's record so far, unbeaten and topping the group, means they are entitled to call themselves the best team in the competition so far. But, when PSG peak, they can reach another level, as they did in last year's final. 2-1.

Jack Rathborn, sports editor: Arsenal. Containing Ousmane Dembele is likely to prove vital to preventing that overwhelming momentum Luis Enrique’s side can produce, as seen by that relentless finish in the first leg of the round of 16 against Chelsea. Confidence will be sky-high after the Premier League title and the way that Mikel Arteta’s side approached the away game against Man City, despite losing, shows they will not be overwhelmed by the occasion. 1-0 to the Arsenal.

Kieran Jackson, senior sports writer: Arsenal. Confidence is high and momentum is with them. If Mikel Arteta stays bold with his team selection (e.g. Lewis-Skelly over Zubimendi), I do see a 1-0 victory in the offing, with one set-piece goal in their favour.

Alex Pattle, sports writer: PSG. I think it will be a closely-contested game, tense in parts and open in others. I’ll go 2-1 to PSG, with Arsenal to trail, equalise, and ultimately suffer late disappointment.

Jack Rathborn29 May 2026 12:30

The Mikel Arteta method that could turn Arsenal into Champions League winners

Maybe it is the method against the magic. Arsenal could be damned with faint praise when compared with Paris Saint-Germain, their more structured style of play contrasted with something more fluid and fast. And yet, should they become champions of Europe for the first time, it might be the product of planning.

Whether or not it is actually done on spreadsheets, it has the feel of a project pursued in a logical, disciplined manner, the product of an organised mind. Mikel Arteta is far from the only elite manager who is accused of being a control freak but, especially as Arsenal now have the vantage point of being Premier League champions there is an orderly look to their progress.

Richard Jolly in Budapest29 May 2026 12:19

Champions League: PSG v Arsenal build-up and latest news

Good afternoon and welcome to the Independent’s build-up to the biggest game in European club football as Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final tomorrow.

Budapest hosts the match, with expectations high.

Can the Gunners lift the trophy for the first time in their history or will PSG land a historic repeat after last year’s crushing win over Inter Milan?

Join us for the latest updates and news, with Miguel Delaney and Richard Jolly reporting from Budapest.