Arsenal will enter the Champions League final with the feeling that they have a "debt" to pay off to Paris Saint-Germain. Inside the London team, many people believe that Arsenal actually played better than PSG in the semi-finals last season, although in the end they were still eliminated from the tournament.
Now, after a year, the two teams reunite in the biggest European club-level match and this confrontation is not only about titles. This is also a representative of two opposing football schools that are dominating Europe at this time.
After the breathtaking semi-final match between Bayern Munich and PSG, many people once expected that this season's Champions League would continue to witness another chaotic attack. However, PSG showed a completely different face in the second leg when controlling the game with certainty, maturity and frightening coldness.
Coach Luis Enrique's team is not just a team that favors attacking improvisation as before. Now they possess a nearly perfect balance between ball control, counter-attack speed and defense organization. This makes many people assess PSG as the strongest team in Europe since Barcelona's peak under coach Pep Guardiola.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia became a symbol of the football style that PSG pursues: direct, fast and full of creativity. Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue or Vitinha bring transformations that make it difficult for every defense.
But what makes PSG really scary lies in their adaptability. If the first leg with Bayern was a explosive attack, then the second leg showed that they can completely play pragmatically and control the match in the classic style of European football.
That comprehensiveness makes Arsenal face an extremely difficult problem before the final in Budapest. However, coach Mikel Arteta's team also has reasons to be confident. Arsenal has changed a lot since the defeat to PSG last season. They are more mature, have better squad depth and possess a defense considered the most solid in Europe this season.
If PSG represents freedom and creativity in attack, Arsenal is a symbol of organization, tactical structure and space control. Gabriel Magalhaes and set pieces are becoming extremely powerful weapons of Arsenal - factors that can make a difference in a final that only takes place in 90 minutes.
Interestingly, this match also clearly reflects the new power picture of European football. Arsenal - a team owned by American billionaire Stan Kroenke - is trying to overcome two clubs backed by oil nations, PSG and Manchester City, to conquer the biggest titles.
If they win the Premier League and Ligue 1 respectively, Arsenal and PSG will create the first Champions League final since 2020 between the two domestic champions. Many people also believe that this is a rare time the league has actually witnessed the two strongest teams in Europe meet in the final match.
The biggest problem at this time is whether Arsenal is capable of facing PSG fairly or not. And if not, do they need to play the way PSG does to win?
It will be a confrontation between imagination and tactical structure, between inspiring attacking football and disciplined controlled football. But above all, this is simply a match between the two best teams in Europe at the moment, and it could be the Champions League final that fans have been waiting for for many years.
The match between PSG and Arsenal takes place at 11:00 PM on May 30 (Vietnam time).
