Key events
10 min The last team to come from behind to win a Champions League final was Real Madrid in 2014. Before that it was Chelsea in 2012 and then Barcelona in 2006, against Arsenal.
8 min Since you asked, Alan Smith’s goal against Parma in 1994 was scored in the 20th minute.
What a finish from Havertz! There was a ricochet on the halfway line that allowed him to gallop into space on the left. He kept going, all the way into the area, realised there was no support and lashed a rising drive past Safonov from a very tight angle.
Perhaps Safonov could have done better – he was starting to crouch and the ball went straight above his head – but it was a brilliant strike.
GOAL! PSG 0-1 Arsenal (Havertz 6)
Kai Havertz has scored in another Champions League final!
5 min Fabian Ruiz fouls Saka, throws the ball away and is a bit fortunate to escape a yellow card.
3 min A pretty quiet start, with PSG popping the ball around in their own half.
1 min Peep peep!
“Was that Jurgen Klopp on bass in The Killers?” asks Simon McMahon. “In any event, Uefa missed a trick not getting Nathan ‘The Asp’ Aspinall to come out during Mr Brightside wearing a half and half scarf.”
Arf! Talking of darts, I invite any lovers of empathy to watch this clip and not shed a tear or fifty.
“Everyone thinks Arsenal could be on for a real hiding tonight, so perhaps we should ask how Chelsea managed to beat them in the Club World Cup final,” writes Philip West. “Many probably expected PSG to roll them over too, but somehow they lost. Can we clutch straws from any of this?”
The players are about to emerge from the tunnel. PSG beat Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate in last year’s semi-final – but that scoreline was slightly flattering, and Gianluigi Donnarumma made three awesome saves across the two legs. Arsenal know they can hurt PSG; now they just have to beat them.
“I like The Killers,” says Andrew Goudie. “Bbut come on, not now.”
Agreed. They should be on at half-time, surely.
“Sitting in my local sports club bar in near solitude,” writes Andy Gordon. “I’m wondering if either Arsenal are even more unpopular than I thought, a lot of people are assuming that kick off is the usual 8pm or I’m missing a cracking episode of Location, Location, Location?”
Do you live in the Kerguelen Islands?
“I’m not against an earlier kick off, and I noted Ceferin’s comment on more time for ‘reflecting on the game of the season’,” begins Rob Knap. “Those words conjure images of turtle-neck sweaters, chin scratching and wise discussion at cafe tables. If Arsenal win, I would like to think their fans will find an altogether more appropriate way to ‘reflect’ on their victory (fortunately, Budapest caters for both approaches).”
I hope your friend and mine, Barry Ferst, is at the game and can be picked out in the crowd.
Philipp Lahm
Before the Champions League final, I want to spare a thought for one of the eliminated semi-finalists. Diego Simeone impresses me. For 15 years, he has had to push the boulder up the mountain again and again with Atlético Madrid. We at Bayern Munich were knocked out by him during our peak phase in 2016. Now I read somewhere that Simeone should question himself. Yet he asserts himself time and again with inferior means. It is a pity, Sisyphus Simeone has long deserved a Champions League title.
Two other clubs remain whose coaches take a similar approach. Resembling conductors, they pedantically practise distances, sequences, passes, choreograph their defence and orchestrate their attack. Their operating system, ball-oriented zonal marking, is state of the art. Their team behaves like a swarm. Last year, Paris Saint-Germain against Arsenal was the semi-final; this year, they are determining the winner. The right teams are in the final.
Since you asked, The Killers are playing When You Were Young, which is a bit of an insult to Leandro Trossard, Fabian Ruiz and David Raya. They’re the only thirtysomething in the two starting line-ups.
Thanks for all your emails, which I’m getting through as best I can.
“Is it just me or does ‘He was alive!’ make Arteta sound like a creature of Frankenstein, a modern football Prometheus?” wonders Peter Oh. “In any case, here’s hoping for a monstrously good match! PSG attacking with pitchforks etc.”
“Will the Gooners appreciate Khvicha Kvaratskheli as the most Thierry Henry-like player many of us have seen in these last two decades?” wonders Gary Naylor. “I suppose they might – if they win.”
Is he not closer in spirit to Robert Pires than Thierry Henry? He has the same imagination and sinuous movement, albeit on fast forward. I guess Henry wasn’t exactly lacking in imagination and sinuous movement.
Morgan Ofori
Arsenal have a storied history with Black players, and its fanbase reflects that. A cursory look at the joy on Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze’s faces at Selhurst Park and the ensuing melee of supporters on the streets of London right through to Kampala is strong proof of that. I look at why a north London club has the love and dedication of so many in the Black diaspora – a flame that has remained lit through the good, the bad and indifferent.
“PSG will not win today,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Their manager’s name is an anagram of I Ruin Sequel.”
And Arsenal’s is an anagram of Teatime Lark, so maybe it’s in the leaves.
The atmosphere is spectacular, and as I type the Arsenal fans are belting out The Angel (North London Forever). Apparently The Killers are going to play before kick off; what is this, the OC?
“Too often this year …” begins Charles Antaki in reply to my comment a few minutes ago, “… sort of yes…. (lowers head in shame).”
Ed Aarons
When Kai Havertz thinks back to the 2021 Champions League final, he can’t help smiling. Chelsea’s surprise victory over Manchester City in Porto still feels like yesterday for the Germany striker.
“It is something I will never forget,” he says. “As a kid I could have never dreamed I would score a goal in the final and win that game. I will always be proud of it. I just try to take that feeling and hopefully it will happen again.”
Havertz is looking ahead to Arsenal’s final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday, when not many give them a chance of winning. It was the same when Chelsea, managed by Thomas Tuchel, took on a formidable City assembled by Pep Guardiola that had won the Premier League by 12 points. Chelsea had finished fourth, a further seven points adrift.
“We were the underdogs on that day, for sure,” Havertz says. “We hadn’t had the best season. But now it is completely different.”
Sammy Gecsoyler
Since Arsenal’s euphoric Premier League win last week, it has been a never-ending party in much of north London (apart from in Tottenham, although they had their own cause for celebration). And with Arsenal poised to play in the Uefa Champions League final on Saturday, Gooner fever is about to spread to the continent. So it was not surprising that in Stansted’s departure lounge, about 30 miles north-east of central London, the team’s iconic red-and-white shirts were an unmissable sight on Friday morning.
Most Gunners – or Gooners, as they are colloquially known – were preparing to embark on (mostly indirect) journeys to Budapest, where Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain. “We’ll get there by train, plane and automobiles,” said Darren Cornish. The 53-year-old IT manager from Hemel Hampstead was not exaggerating. Arsenal fans the Guardian spoke to plan on trekking to the Hungarian capital via overnight buses and trains from surrounding countries after flights to Budapest spiked following their Premier League victory.
“Good ol’ UEFA, eh Rob?” weeps Simon McMahon. “Placing the fans experience at the heart of their planning, bless. Anyway, hope everyone who is there has a great time, and may the best team win. Arsenal’s red with white sleeves combo is an absolute classic, though. They’ve won that particular battle whatever happens on the pitch.”
Read Ali Tweedale on the numbers behind the numbers
“The mention of Santi Cazorla in that snippet from Sid Lowe’s piece on Mikel Arteta – well, that just makes me slightly wistful, and nostalgic for the kind of player that, with every respect humanly possible, this current Arsenal team just doesn’t have,” writes Charles Antaki. “ I’m sure Cazorla put the graft in, ran back and helped out and so on – he was too honest to footballer not to do that – but what we remember is the grace of his play: always forwards, always brilliant, always – or so it seemed -coming from just pure enjoyment of what he was doing. Not quite the current feel of it, out there in the side these days. A bit of it might help today.”
YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO FINISHING FOURTH EVERY SEASON YOU WEIRDO?
“If Luis Enrique leads PSG to another victory, he really will have achieved everything possible with that club,” writes Matt Dony, who may or may be a Liverpool fan. “Maybe time for a new challenge?”
Barney Ronay
Welcome to Budapest: city of stew, city of pavement squares, city of men in cotton smocks offering brisk muscular relaxation in geothermally heated cubicles. Eleven days on from the profound emotional release of winning the Premier League title it seems fitting Arsenal will approach their season’s endgame in a city that is basically perfect for a restorative summer city break.
Saturday afternoon at the Puskas Arena already looks like a twin-track event for Mikel Arteta’s team, an occasion that changes shape according to the angle from which you see it. On one hand, victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final would represent the greatest day in Arsenal’s history. On the other, this is an occasion that feels strangely light, fun, celebratory, a free-hit kind of final.
And this really is something new for a team whose entire public identity in the age of Arteta has been defined by the curation of anxiety, every step or stumble pitched as a referendum on the validity of the project, on the basic character of the knitwear-clad avatar of pain striding along at the front of the parade.
Arthur Renard
Jan van Loon remembers the moment well. As Arsenal’s head of coaching he was guiding Freddie Ljungberg’s first steps in management with the under-15s when Bukayo Saka joined the squad. Saka was regarded as one of the academy’s standout talents but Ljungberg soon concluded the youngster was in danger of not fulfilling his potential.
Towards the end of 2016, Ljungberg delivered words to Saka that, according to Van Loon, have shaped the winger’s career. It was a one-on-one evaluation, typically held twice a year in the academy, but also in the room were Van Loon, a strength and conditioning coach and Saka’s father, Yomi.
Bukayo was sitting there feeling pretty confident because he was scoring goals and things were seemingly going well,” Van Loon says. “But Freddie said: ‘I’m actually not that satisfied, because you’ve got so much more in you. You need to take a good look at yourself. From now on, I want to see the real Bukayo. No more hiding in training or going through the motions. No, you’re the first one out there on the pitch and the last to leave it. You’re going to carry the team and take on a leadership role.’”
“How thoughtful of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, switching the game to a 5pm kick-off, so we can all ‘enjoy the rest of the evening with friends and family’,” weeps Justin Kavanagh. “Imagine how delighted say, friends and family of Bayern Munich fans would have been to have those precious extra hours in their company after the 1999 final. Or what cheerful company Inter fans would have been, post-game, last year. Thanks for your empathy, Aleksander.
“For me, the other side of each team, rather than their strength, is what will matter,” says David Howell. “How many gaps will PSG leave as their full-backs go brrr and the attackers purr, and how easily will Arsenal be able to take advantage of any that arrive?
“With the new kickoff time strengthening the feel of this being the Super Bowl of Europe, my mind goes back to the first Super Bowl I watched – Colts v Bears in 2007, which the former won because their defensive weakness wasn’t as acute as the offensive one of the Bears. I feel like tonight might be the same story, but I’m a lot less sure of that than I was after the semis…”
PSG are just too good, I think, though there are some undeniable Parma 1994 vibes.
It’s almost impossible to be a great writer and an even better human being. Don McRae is proof that it’s not completely impossible, and this piece is a joy.
“The Champions League final I most remember between the two best teams in Europe was 1994,” says Martin Widdicks. “A rampant Barcelona had destroyed everyone in the groups and, I think, were slight favourites for the final but were playing Serie A winners Milan….
“All fans of the mercurial Dejan Savicevic remember what happened next.
“I should end with some link to today’s game and I guess it’s that Arsenal will win 4-0… seems a mite unlikely!”
Lovers of that game are encouraged to listen to this podcast, and read the book discussed therein.
Sid Lowe
The way Santi Cazorla tells it, rolling about laughing, Mikel Arteta may just be the worst person you could ever wish to watch a match with. Which is why he knew his friend would be a coach and why he told him to go away and become one, convinced great things were coming. “When we were injured at Arsenal, we used to meet at home for games, and he would grab the remote and pause it,” Cazorla recalls. “I would say: ‘What are you stopping it for?’ He would say: ‘No, go back, go back,’ rewind it 30 seconds, and then ask: ‘What do you see?’ I would say: ‘I see a paused screen. I don’t see anything!’”
So Arteta would explain. “‘Don’t you think this player is badly positioned? … If he goes a bit deeper, this space opens up … if the pivot goes there, this happens … that line should be deeper …’ I would look at him and think: ‘What’s with this guy?’” Cazorla continues, still cracking up. “He was a coach already. All game, every game: pausing, rewinding. The match is finished and we’re only in the 35th minute. ‘Do you see it?’ ‘Yes, yes, you’re right, now come on, press play.’ But I didn’t see it. I love football, I can watch it all day, but I don’t notice those things. Mikel does. I think it’s a gift.”
Donald McRae
“They’ve got a wonderful group of players and a great manager in Mikel Arteta but having come so close three times on the bounce I felt these guys needed it,” Sol Campbell says of Arsenal winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years since, in 2004, he was the cornerstone of their defence for the Invincibles. His team remained unbeaten throughout that historic league season, but the pressure on his successors has been immense.
“The wait has been so heavy and it was all pent up, building year after year, always coming so close but never getting over the line,” he says. “That’s why you saw such an outpouring of joy and togetherness. It’s been incredible because we’ve been waiting such a long time.”
Rob Draper
They left London in their thousands, full of hope and devotion, heading for Paris in the springtime, yet romantic anticipation lasted all of 18 minutes, which was when Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, was sent off in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona at the Stade de France.
Twenty years on, as Arsenal fans again travel in anticipation, this time to Budapest, for the club’s second Champions League final, you could argue that Arsenal hearts have been a little broken ever since
Ed Aarons
Josh Kroenke has promised that Arsenal will strengthen their squad even if they are crowned European champions for the first time and said rewarding Mikel Arteta with a new contract is an “utmost priority”.
Arsenal, who face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on Saturday, spent more than £250m last summer on players who helped them win a first Premier League title for 22 years. Kroenke and his father, Stan, the club’s American owners and co-chairs, watched Arsenal at Crystal Palace on Sunday and brought the trophy on to the pitch before it was presented to the captain, Martin Ødegaard. They are expected to be at the final.
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), the family’s sports empire, have won two Super Bowls, two Stanley Cups and the NBA Championship in the United States and Kroenke said there could be no standing still.
“Our stated goal was winning the Premier League, because if you can put yourself in contention for the Premier League, you’re in contention for everything else. In one sense, we’ve achieved one goal, with another one on the plate coming on Saturday. Should we get a great result it’s not going to change or affect who we are.
The two XIs
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Joao Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Lucas Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, Zaire-Emery, Hernandez, Mayulu, Dro Fernandez, Barcola, Mbaye.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Mosquera, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Odegaard, Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Jesus, Eze, Madueke, Martinelli, Timber, Gyokeres, Norgaard, Merino, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Dowman.
Referee Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Team news: Lewis-Skelly and Mosquera start
Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose inclusion in midfield last month helped re-energise Arsenal’s season, is preferred to Martin Zubimendi. Piero Hincapie starts ahead of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back and Kai Havertz, not Viktor Gyokeres, will play up front, Martin Odegaard gets the nod over Eberechi Eze in midfield, and Cristhian Mosquera starts at right-back ahead of the presumably rusty Jurrien Timber.
No surprises in the PSG side. Fabian Ruiz has been picked ahead of Warren Zaire-Emery in midfield.
Ed Aarons
Luis Enrique has insisted Paris Saint-Germain’s motivation to retain their Champions League title is greater than Arsenal’s quest to be crowned European champions for the first time.
PSG demolished Inter 5-0 in last year’s final in Munich and are strong favourites for Saturday’s showdown at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Arsenal have reached this stage for the first time since 2006, when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in Paris, and Arteta caused a stir in the week when he said: “We will be European champions on Saturday.”
Luis Enrique refused to say if that declaration has provided his players with extra motivation but did say that the chance to become only the second team in the Champions League era to retain their title, after Real Madrid, and ninth in total is driving his players. “Yes, it is powerful,” said the Spaniard of Arsenal’s desire to win a first title. “But do you know how powerful trying to win the second one in a row is? It’s bigger. So we’re ahead. I don’t think there’s any better motivation than winning the Champions League. We will see tomorrow who is better – we both won our respective leagues and I’m going to focus on what is positive for my team. So that we can show the best of ourselves.
“It’s not 2009 that we should be looking back to,” says Andrew Goudie, “but 2011 for the last time Europe’s two best teams met in the Champions League final: the second Barcelona vs Manchester United final.”
I think Real Madrid were significantly better than United that season. It’s subjective, mind.
The song “1-0 to the Arsenal” was born during this run. If they are to win tonight, that’s the likeliest scoreline.
This is the first men’s Champions League final to kick off at 5pm. I asked Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin about it and he sent me this reply on Whatsapp:
With this change, we are placing the fans’ experience at the heart of our planning. The Uefa Champions League final is the highlight of the football season, and the new kick-off time will make it even more accessible, inclusive, and impactful for everyone involved.
“While a 21:00 CET [8pm BST] kick-off is well suited for midweek matches, an earlier kick-off on a Saturday for the final means an earlier finish – regardless of extra time or penalties – and offers fans the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the evening with friends and family, reflecting on the game of the season.
Preamble
In an ideal world, the Champions League final would always involve the two best sides in Europe. Knockout football doesn’t work like that, especially when multiple teams from the big five leagues are in the mix. There’s a decent argument that this is the first time since 2009 that Europe’s two best teams have met in the Champions League final. Paris Saint-Germain are the reigning champions; Arsenal are the champions of Europe’s best league* and unbeaten in this season’s Champions League.
A Champions League final is always mouthwatering but this game has more saliva-producers than most. There’s a fascinating clash of styles, between PSG’s dizzying rotations and Arsenal’s unapologetic pragmatism, and a win for either team would have serious historical significance.
If PSG retain the trophy they deserve to jump into any conversation about the greatest club teams in history. If Arsenal win it for the first time they will leave the Invincibles, the near-invincibles of 1990-91, the Irresistibles of 1997-98 and 2001-02 and the Double-winners of 1970-71 in the shade. It’s up for grabs now.
Kick off 5pm
* So say the Uefa coefficient
