For a campaign which at times has attracted a certain amount of cynicism, be it about style of play or their ability to last the course, Arsenal‘s players stand on the precipice of sporting immortality.
Should they become the first winners of the Champions League or European Cup in the club’s long history, they will effectively eclipse the greatest sides of the Arsene Wenger era. Perhaps the most poignant method of victory for Mikel Arteta’s men would be scoring a winning goal from a corner.
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Arsenal’s expertise from set-pieces and their defensive solidity was the bedrock of a first Premier League title in 22 years, and those key assets may also provide their best hope of dethroning PSG.
The Gunners have scored 64 set-piece goals since the start of 2023-24 – at least nine more than any other team in the top five European leagues.
Arsenal are also the only unbeaten side in this season’s Champions League, having trailed for a grand total of 43 minutes (away to Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16). They have conceded just six goals in 14 matches.
PSG, though, have headlines of their own to make and Luis Enrique’s outfit pose an almost unparalleled threat.
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They are aiming to become only the second club in the Champions League era (since 1992-93) to successfully defend their title, a feat only previously achieved by Real Madrid when they won three in a row between 2016 and 2018.
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PSG and Arsenal will be facing each other for the eighth time, with their head-to-head record perfectly balanced at two wins each and three draws. However, the French giants won the two most recent meetings in the 2024-25 semi-finals.
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PSG have prevailed in each of their past five Champions League knockout ties against English clubs. Manchester City were the last English side to eliminate them, in the semi-finals of the 2020-21 tournament.
Key PSG players – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Vitinha
Kvaratskhelia has been involved in more goals than any other player in the 2025-26 Champions League knockout phase (10), scoring seven times and providing three assists. He is the first player to score or assist in seven consecutive knockout-stage appearances in the same Champions League campaign.
Vitinha has made 227 line-breaking passes in the competition this season – 44 more than any other player. Declan Rice, with 94, has played the most for Arsenal.
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Team news
Achraf Hakimi has not featured since the first leg of the semi-final against Bayern Munich because of a hamstring injury and he remains a doubt.
Ousmane Dembele also sat out an internal training match between squad players last weekend, but he has said he expects to be “100% fit” for the final.
Arsenal made nine changes for an effective dead rubber against Crystal Palace on Sunday, when Mikel Merino played his first minutes since foot surgery in January.
Jurrien Timber has not played since 14 March, while Ben White is out for the season. Noni Madueke will be assessed for a tight hamstring.
