Arsenal's weight is gone - now Paris Saint-Germain stand in the way of immortality in UEFA Champions League final

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Arsenal arrived in Budapest relaxed and seemingly free of the weight that has haunted them for years. But Paris Saint-Germain now stand between Mikel Arteta's side and football immortality.

Premier League title has ‘taken weight off our shoulders’ ahead of UCL final - Saka

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It’s rare that a pre-match interview begins with "congratulations".

But there is undeniably a celebratory feel around the Arsenal camp after ending a 22-year wait for Premier League glory.

At open training on the eve of the UEFA Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max - the good vibes carried on.

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an hour ago

Tunes blared from the club stereo; Declan Rice melted into Thierry Henry’s pitchside embrace; players and staff competed to create the fastest circle while holding hands. Yes, really.

It was not the atmosphere you would expect less than 24 hours before the club's first Champions League final in 20 years.

Earlier in the evening, PSG had looked razor sharp and intensely focused on the pristine Puskas Arena pitch. Arsenal did too once the shooting drills began, their attacking stars repeatedly firing at, and usually beyond, third-choice stopper Tommy Setford.

But there was something else around Arsenal. Relief, perhaps?

Thierry Henry embraces Declan Rice at open training

Image credit: Getty Images

After the aforementioned congratulations, Bukayo Saka hinted as much when he joined TNT Sports pitchside, telling Jules Breach the title had taken "a bit of weight off our shoulders".

Six weeks ago, their season looked to be unravelling. Four defeats in six games had left their trophy pursuit in disarray, while a gleeful Manchester City fan chugging from a bottle adorned with the Arsenal badge became symbolic of another collapse.

Rice turned to skipper Martin Odegaard after defeat at the Etihad Stadium and declared: "It's not done." Few, including plenty of Arsenal supporters, believed him. And understandably so.

No English club has spent the social media era carrying quite as much baggage as Arsenal. #WengerOut became one of football’s earliest online pile-ons, while every failure seemed amplified by the internet age.

Arteta himself looked close to the axe during the early seasons of his reign after a series of unconvincing displays following his arrival in 2019.

Now, from the brink of a potentially terminal collapse in 2025-26, Arsenal stand one game away from completing the greatest season in the club's history.

"Maybe the genie is out the bottle now and people are realising how big Arsenal could possibly be," says Martin Keown, a three-time league champion and Invincible under Wenger.

"I don’t think we should get too carried away, but there’s a platform now for Arsenal to be regularly coming back to these types of games."

Completing double would be Arsenal's biggest ever achievement - Keown

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'The two things that really worry PSG'

Of course, the mood will quickly sour if Arsenal fail to withstand the expected early PSG onslaught.

Luis Enrique’s side were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes against Internazionale in last year’s final and arrive in Budapest having scored 18 goals from the last 16 onwards, with Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue in ominous form.

But Arsenal might just possess the antidote.

Remarkably, Arteta's side are yet to concede from open play in the knockout stages. The only two goals they have leaked in six matches came from a corner and the penalty spot - half the number PSG conceded in their chaotic semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich.

If Arsenal have their way, there will be far less chaos for PSG to feast on come Saturday - and that has some in Paris worried.

"There are two things that really worry in Paris," says French football expert Julien Laurens.

"The first is set-pieces, even if maybe Arsenal in the second half of the season haven’t been as efficient or clinical, and PSG are better at defending them now that Gianluigi Donnarumma is gone and Matvey Safonov is a bit better in the air.

"And the other one is: in France, PSG have never faced a team like Arsenal. If you look at the Bayern tie, open games, that suited PSG.

"Facing a team like Arsenal that are so good out of possession… this is very difficult. Very rarely do Arsenal concede in transition, which is one of PSG’s strengths with Kvaratskhelia, Dembele and Doue.

"It’s a different challenge for PSG, which I think they will look forward to, but it’s going to be a massive battle."

'Kvaratskhelia would win Ballon d'Or if he was Brazilian, Spanish or French'

Video credit: TNT Sports

Much of Arsenal’s hopes will rest on their ability to contain PSG’s devastating front line, although they have been boosted by the return of defender Jurrien Timber.

The Dutchman took part in pre-match media duties on Friday, strongly suggesting he could start at right-back in what effectively amounts to Project Stop Kvaratskhelia.

Keown - until last weekend part of Arsenal’s most recent title-winning defence - believes the structure behind Arteta’s side is what makes them so difficult to break down.

"It’s a collective," he says. "They press together as a team, everyone has a specific role. When they’re deep, it’s like the Thames Barrier, the way they sit on the edge of the box."

While Arsenal are riding the emotional wave of Premier League glory, PSG boss Luis Enrique dismissed suggestions his side have less at stake.

Asked how "powerful" it is chasing a first Champions League crown - as Arsenal are and PSG were last year - Enrique responded: "It’s powerful. But you know how powerful it is to win a second Champions League title in a row? It’s bigger."

Win or lose, over half a million fans are expected in north London for Sunday’s title parade. But there is a growing belief this team could yet be celebrating two trophies, not one.

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