Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain meet in Budapest on Saturday evening in the Champions League final, bringing the 2025/26 season to a close.
It is Arsenal’s first appearance in a European Cup final in 20 years, since they lost to Barcelona in 2006, and only their second ever. For PSG, it is their third final, coming exactly a year after they thrashed Inter 5-0, and six years after losing to Bayern Munich in their first.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had a remarkable season, winning every game in the league phase of the Champions League and claiming the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years. However, the sheer volume of matches could be a concern going into Saturday’s game. The final will be Arsenal’s 63rd of the season, more than any other side in the top five European leagues.
PSG, by contrast, have played just 56 matches, and manager Luis Enrique has been able to rotate his squad heavily in recent weeks, keeping his key players fresh. None of PSG’s star names featured in even half of their league matches this season. Ousmane Dembele, for example, started only 11 of their 34 Ligue 1 games, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played just two full matches in 28 league appearances. Captain Marquinhos actually accumulated more minutes in the Champions League than in Ligue 1 this season, despite making 18 fewer appearances in the European competition.
The contrast in workload between the two squads is striking. Nine of the 12 players from both clubs who have clocked over 3,000 minutes this season play for Arsenal. Martin Zubimendi played every league game for the Gunners, while Declan Rice missed just two. Arteta will be without Ben White for the final, and Jurrien Timber is only 25 per cent fit. Noni Madueke is 50/50 to play some part, while PSG’s Achraf Hakimi is also a doubt. Dembele, despite a recent knock, has declared himself fit.
PSG’s biggest individual threat is likely to be Kvaratskhelia, who has scored 10 goals in this season’s Champions League and chipped in with six assists. He has also taken more shots than any other PSG player in the competition. In midfield, Vitinha is the man who sets the tempo for the French side, having completed 1,553 passes in European competition this season, more than double those of Arsenal’s busiest passer, William Saliba, who has made 678.
For Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli has scored six European goals this season and Viktor Gyokeres five, with Rice creating 24 chances in their Champions League campaign. Kai Havertz also carries significant big game experience, having scored the winning goal in the 2021 final for Chelsea against Manchester City.
The numbers paint a clear picture of how the two sides differ. PSG top the rankings among all clubs in this season’s competition for goals scored with 44, total shots with 298, shots on target with 114 and passes with 9,809. Arsenal rank sixth in most of those attacking categories. However, it is at the other end of the pitch where the Gunners have truly excelled, having conceded just six goals throughout the entire competition, one of the lowest tallies of any side. PSG, by comparison, have let in 22.
The two sides have met six times recently, with each winning twice and two matches ending in draws. Saturday’s final has all the makings of a classic encounter between an attacking force and a resolute defence, and could well come down to whether the unstoppable force or the immovable object has the final say in Budapest.
