Overview
Under coach Luis Enrique, PSG has completely transformed and is facing the opportunity to defend the Champions League throne. Instead of relying on superstars, the French team focuses on teamwork and cohesion in their playing style.
Enrique helped PSG explode strongly in the knockout stage, although they had gone through a not really convincing group stage. Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all succumbed to the strength of the reigning European champions. PSG is currently the team with the most goals in the Champions League this season with 44 goals, only one goal less than Barcelona's all-time record in the 1999-2000 season.
The Paris team has only had one match without scoring in the 2025-2026 Champions League, which was a 0-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao in December last year. In addition, they have scored at least 2 goals in 7/8 knockout matches, before that streak stopped at a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the second leg semi-finals.
PSG closed the Ligue 1 season not too perfectly with a 1-2 defeat to Paris FC, but the domestic championship was guaranteed in advance. Bradley Barcola's opening goal in that match also helped PSG extend their consecutive scoring streak to 27 before the Champions League final.
The match in Budapest this weekend also marks the first time since the 2019-2020 season that the two domestic champions meet in the Champions League final. At that time, PSG lost 0-1 to Bayern Munich in a non-public final due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the opposite side, Arsenal will enter the Champions League final with unforgettable memories of the defeat to Barcelona in Paris exactly two decades ago. That was the match where Jens Lehmann's red card, Samuel Eto'o's equalizer and Juliano Belletti's decisive goal caused coach Arsene Wenger to miss the most prestigious cup in Europe.
Now, Wenger's former student Mikel Arteta is facing the opportunity to write history for Arsenal. If he wins, the Spanish strategist will help the "Gunners" complete the Champions League and Premier League doubles - something that only Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have done in the modern era before.
Many opinions suggest that Arsenal had a relatively favorable journey to advance to the final, but the North London team still showed admirable bravery. After an impressive performance in the group stage, Arsenal successively surpassed Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid to participate in Budapest.
Arsenal is still undefeated in European competitions this season and has become the first team to go through 14 unbeaten matches in a Champions League campaign. They also kept a clean sheet in 9 matches, only one match behind their own record and Real Madrid's record.
The 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend in the Premier League continued to show the stable form of Arteta's team. That was Arsenal's fifth consecutive victory in all competitions, although most came with a minimum score.
Last season, Arteta helped Arsenal defeat PSG in the Champions League group stage, before Luis Enrique's team successfully avenged in the semi-finals. A year later, the two teams reunited in the biggest match in Europe with the sole goal: to reach the top of the old continent.
Expected lineup:
Safonov, Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes, Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz, Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
Raya, Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Gyokeres.
The match between PSG and Arsenal takes place at 11:00 PM on May 30 (Vietnam time).
