Arsenal and PSG Prepare for Champions League Final in Budapest
The Premier League trophy is barely settled in the cabinet, but Arsenal’s season is not done yet. Not by a long way.
Mikel Arteta’s side have landed in Budapest for Saturday’s Champions League final, chasing the club’s first European crown against holders Paris Saint-Germain in what feels like a defining night for this project.
And there is intrigue on both teamsheets.
Timber on the plane, hope in the air
The headline for Arsenal comes at the back. Jurrien Timber, out since March with a groin injury, has travelled with the squad and was seen boarding the flight on Thursday. For a player who has missed months of action, just being on that plane is a statement.
He trained this week and, while there are no guarantees he will start, his inclusion gives Arteta one more high-level option in a defensive unit that will be stretched to its limit against the reigning champions. Even the possibility of Timber featuring – from the bench or otherwise – changes the feel around Arsenal’s preparations.
Arteta’s travelling group underlines the depth that has carried them through a title-winning domestic campaign:
Arsenal travelling squad
- Goalkeepers: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford
- Defenders: Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Marli Salmon
- Midfielders: Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino, Christian Norgaard
- Forwards: Gabriel Jesus, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Max Dowman
From the authority of Declan Rice in midfield to the variety of attacking options – Havertz’s movement, Saka’s directness, Martinelli’s chaos, Gyokeres’ power – Arsenal arrive with a squad built to attack the biggest stage, not just survive it.
PSG’s own late boosts
Across the divide, Luis Enrique has his own reasons to feel encouraged.
Ousmane Dembele, who limped out of PSG’s final Ligue 1 match of the season against Paris FC and has since been absent from training, is on the plane. So is Achraf Hakimi, the full-back who struck against Arsenal in last season’s semi-final and has been missing since the first leg of this year’s semi-final against Bayern Munich.
Both have travelled with the group. In a game of this magnitude, that alone suggests the medical staff see a realistic chance of involvement.
PSG travelling squad
- Goalkeepers: Lucas Chevalier, Matvey Safonov, Renato Marin
- Defenders: Achraf Hakimi, Lucas Beraldo, Marquinhos, Illia Zabarnyi, Lucas Hernandez, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho
- Midfielders: Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu, Dro Fernandez, Warren Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves
Hakimi’s return would restore PSG’s familiar thrust down the right, while Dembele’s inclusion hints at the possibility of the kind of one-v-one threat that can tilt a final in a single moment. For a side defending their crown, those are not minor details; they are potential turning points.
Budapest awaits a heavyweight collision
Arsenal arrive as freshly crowned champions of England, still riding the adrenaline of a Premier League title. PSG arrive as Champions League holders, battle-hardened in this competition and reinforced by timely returns.
Both squads are now locked in. The injuries have been managed, the gambles taken, the final calls made.
The stage in Budapest is ready. The question is whether Arsenal’s dream season has one last historic chapter left in it, or whether PSG’s grip on Europe tightens again when it matters most.
