It is said that opposites attract and Paris Saint-Germain’s irresistible attack propelled them into Saturday’s intriguing Champions League final clash against a tight-fisted Arsenal side in Budapest.
PSG coach Luis Enrique said that there were “no favourites” going into the final against Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions, and insisted that the devil will be “in the details”.
While the bookmakers do classify the Ligue 1 winners as favourites, they also suggest that this is the hardest final to call since 2018, when Real Madrid beat Liverpool.
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Only one of the two sides has scored in each of the last seven finals, which may well be the case again at the Puskas Arena, given Arsenal’s likely approach.
The Gunners, unbeaten in the tournament, have kept nine clean sheets and conceded just six goals. Most expect that they will sit deep and try to punish PSG from set-pieces.
“It’s going to be decided on the details,” said PSG captain Marquinhos, in agreement with his coach.
“How to defend, how to attack… how to defend a set piece, also how to attack a set piece.
“All the little details in a football match and in a final are going to be important.”
Arsenal’s players have played a lot more football this season than those from PSG, but winger Bukayo Saka dismissed the idea that his side might pay for their more arduous workload.
“A game like this is not going to be decided on minutes, it’s going to be decided on moments,” said the England international.
Making history
Finally winning the Champions League for Arsenal would mean a lot, not only for the current team, but also players from previous generations who never managed to do it.
Patrick Vieira, a club icon and captain of their ‘invincibles’ side, sent current skipper Martin Odegaard a good luck video.
“It was special, he is a proper club legend for everything he’s done,” said Odegaard.
“Now we have the chance to do something that they haven’t done as well. It’s something nice to play for.”
In 2006, their only prior final appearance, Arsenal were beaten in the final in Paris by Barcelona, and they have lost their past four European finals.
Saka said that Gunners great Thierry Henry, part of the 2006 side, had also messaged him on Friday and was waiting for him in the stadium to watch Arsenal’s last training session before the final.
Henry is perhaps the highest profile of the tens of thousands of Arsenal fans travelling to Budapest, many soaking up the summer heat with drinks in hand in the city’s famous ruin bars.
Luis Enrique could become one of just five managers to win the competition on three or more occasions, having first won it with Barcelona.
For his opposite number Arteta, who looked up to the Asturian as a player at Barcelona, he is already one of the best.
“He’s always been a reference (point) since he was a player,” said the Arsenal manager.
“He’s been an inspiration and tomorrow we’ll be clashing on that touchline.”
Beyond adding to Arsenal’s own trophy cabinet, the Gunners can also make history for English football after Aston Villa won the Europa League and Crystal Palace triumphed in the Conference League.
If Arteta’s team win, it would be the first time since the 1989-90 season — when Italy’s AC Milan won the European Cup, Juventus lifted the UEFA Cup and Sampdoria clinched Cup Winners’ Cup glory — that a nation has completed a European hat-trick.
PSG succeeding in Europe alone is significant for France. They would become the only French side with multiple European Cups.
Only Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have won the trophy back-to-back in the modern era, lifting it three consecutive times between 2016-18.
Of course for the players, it is just about this match.
“It’s a match everyone wants to play in, it’s a match everyone watches, and it’s a match you have to win,” said PSG midfielder Joao Neves.
Source: Khaleej Times