The Champions League final is set. On May 30, Arsenal will face Paris-Saint-Germain at the Puskas Arena in Budapest in what promises to be a fascinating clash of styles.
Luis Enrique’s PSG, having won the trophy for the first time last season, will hope to retain their title with the exhilarating, free-flowing attacking football that has marked their progress through the competition. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, hoping to win the trophy for the first time, will bring defensive resilience and set-piece threat.
So, with an intriguing game in prospect, we asked our experts: what is the one thing that will decide this year’s final?
Carl Anka, Oli Kay, Nick Miller, Anantaajith Raghuraman, Sarah Shephard and Tim Spiers break down where the game will be won and lost.
Oli Kay: To have any chance of beating PSG, you have to stop Vitinha, Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery running the show in midfield.
But how does Mikel Arteta do that? Does he sacrifice the creativity of Eberechi Eze or Martin Odegaard for a more orthodox midfielder? Does he let Declan Rice loose, chasing every opponent and every loose ball? Or does he have Rice sitting deeper, ready to double up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia whenever the Georgian winger cuts inside?
Will Mikel Arteta ask Declan Rice to sit deep, or unleash hhim to chase the ball? (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
We have seen different approaches from Premier League teams against PSG in the Champions League this season and last. All of them have troubled the French champions at various times — not least Arsenal in last season’s semi-final — but none has truly disrupted PSG’s rhythm and control over a sustained period of play.
Chelsea showed the way by overwhelming PSG in the Club World Cup final last July, but time has only reinforced the suspicion that it was an outlier for both teams. Perhaps it is easier to do that over a 90-minute game than over two legs, but it is truly easier said than done.
Nick Miller: The PSG attack is a hydra: if you cut off one of its heads, another one is just as likely to reach down and bite you.
That said, if Arsenal can manage to stymie Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, they will give themselves a much better chance of winning their first Champions League.
You wonder if Mikel Arteta might do something unusual and change his system slightly, to offer a little more protection down their right side. Might he go for a system closer to a 4-3-3 and a more traditional three-man midfield? The question over the last few games is whether Martin Zubimendi or Myles Lewis-Skelly will play with Declan Rice in midfield, but could it be both? That would allow one of them to drop deeper on their right side and help out Ben White, or whoever plays at full-back. Or perhaps Bukayo Saka will play in the middle and someone more defensive-minded plays on the right wing?
Arteta mixes up his personnel but rarely his formation. For the biggest game of his life, might he be tempted to make an exception?
Anantaajith Raghuraman: How PSG approach the final might prove definitive.
The semi-final against Bayern Munich saw them play two contrasting styles. In Paris, Luis Enrique’s side were at their swashbuckling best, wreaking havoc any time they went forward, while their high press caused issues for Bayern too. It was reminiscent of their dismantling of Inter in last season’s final.
Against Bayern, they showcased some of that initially to get the two-goal cushion before dropping into a resolute block. PSG were physical, made tactical fouls, delayed restarts and allowed no space for Bayern to work their way through. They seemed to relish the defensive work too, while posing plenty of threat on the break.
Arsenal’s defence has withstood a variety of opposition approaches across the season. If there is a team equipped to deal with PSG’s fluidity, it is Mikel Arteta’s side, but can they deal with the sheer variety of ways in which PSG can hurt them? If PSG tailor their approach mid-game, can Arsenal’s attack find solutions?
Sarah Shephard: The big picture answer is how Arsenal emerge from a domestic season that is demanding every last drop of mental and physical resilience, focus and energy from them.
If they arrive in Budapest as Premier League champions, how will that affect them mentally? Could it liberate them from the weight of expectation they’ve been carrying for so many years and allow them to play with a fearlessness and freedom that surprises PSG?
If they arrive having lost the title in the final furlong, how will the disappointment manifest? Will the pressure of taking their last opportunity in a season of so many simply be too much to bear? Or will it imbue them with a will to win that even PSG’s terrifying attacking talent cannot overcome?
Stopping Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is easier said than done (Odd Andersen / AFP via Getty Images)
The slightly more granular answer is: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The PSG winger has the most goal involvements (10 goals, six assists) in the Champions League this season and has the speed, power and accuracy in front of goal to carve open even the best defences. Whether it’s Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber or Ben White who’s given the task of trying to shackle the Georgian, their role will be key if Mikel Arteta’s side are to stand any chance of stopping the champions defending their crown.
OK, that’s two things. Sue me.
Tim Spiers: If Arsenal are going to win, you’d imagine they’d have to score first. The manner in which PSG took an early lead and then shut down a blistering Bayern attack (one that is clearly superior to Arsenal’s) with relative ease, on the German team’s home turf, showed the maturity and experience Luis Enrique’s team now possesses.
And if Arsenal take the lead, can they handle the pressure of the biggest game in the club’s entire existence? We saw in the Carabao Cup final how they struggled to impose themselves on what was a fairly big occasion, but the Champions League final is on another level entirely.
Winning the Premier League would give the Gunners belief and momentum but, with PSG a couple of years ahead of Arsenal in their team’s evolution, it will be Mikel Arteta’s task to override that gap in big-game nous and know-how. A difficult task but, with a smart game plan and a bit of luck, not an impossible one.
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