Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening to make it through to the UEFA Champions League final for the first time since 2005/06. They made the quarters in 2023/24 and the semis 12 months later, so this is a steady progression, and they will be delighted to have given themselves a chance of winning this competition, which would be the first time in the club’s history (including the old European Cup).
Around 24 hours after Bukayo Saka’s goal earned the Gunners their spot in the Budapest showpiece, they learned their opponents in the big game. Paris Saint-Germain edged out German champions Bayern Munich thanks to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena. The first game, of course, was that match-for-the-ages 5-4 thriller in Paris.
The second legs of both ties were not the most exciting games of football, but with both evenly poised and so much at stake, that was hardly a surprise. Arsenal got the job done, as they so often do under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners boss will be glad to have Saka back to something like his best, the England attacker netting for the second game in succession. It was also a second win in a row for the club, who are now unbeaten in four, winning three of those fixtures.
If they can peak over the next three weeks, then they could land an incredible league and UCL double. That said, they will have to be at their absolute best to stop a truly formidable PSG side. The defending champions have quality all over the pitch, a strong defence, an excellent and experienced manager, and they combine skill, personality and individual brilliance with a work rate that puts most other teams to shame.
Having won 5-4 in the first leg against Bayern, PSG scored after just three minutes in Germany to leave the hosts with a mountain to climb. The ever-dangerous Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played a neat one-two before racing down the flank. His perfect pullback was swept into the net by Ousmane Dembele, and from that point on, it never really looked like Vincent Kompany’s men could get back into the tie.
The hosts huffed and puffed, but they really struggled to break down their guests, who were well-structured in defence and poured all their energy into covering for one another. If Arsenal are to finally win the Champions League, they will have to find a way to live with PSG’s intensity and sheer class, something that has proved very much beyond both Chelsea and Liverpool in the knockout phase of this year’s competition.
Arsenal vs PSG 👊
The stage is set ✨ pic.twitter.com/PStGR3yB4s
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 6, 2026
Gunners’ Poor Record in European Finals
Paris Saint-Germain head to the Hungary final as warm favourites with the bookmakers. They are 13/10 to win in 90 minutes and 4/6 to lift the trophy. That compares to 9/4 and 13/10 respectively for the Gunners. If Luis Enrique’s men perform as the bookies expect, they will become the first team to defend the Champions League since Real Madrid won three in a row between 2015/16 and 2017/18.
They would become just the second side to retain the trophy in the Champions League era and only the ninth overall. Given the youth within their ranks, there is every reason to believe they could continue to contend for many years more and cement themselves as one of the great European sides. This is all to say that Arteta and co are clearly up against it.
It will perhaps also not help that Arsenal have a rather poor past record when it comes to European finals. They have only made the showpiece in the Champions League/European Cup once before, losing 2-1 to Barcelona despite holding the lead for almost 40 minutes.
Excluding the non-UEFA Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which they won in 1969/70, Arsenal have only won one European trophy. That was over 30 years ago, when they beat Parma 1-0 in the final of the 1993/94 European Cup Winners’ Cup with a goal from Alan Smith. More recently, Chelsea thrashed them 4-1 in the final of the Europa League in 2018/19, while they also missed out in the same competition (then called the UEFA Cup) in 2000. Back then, Galatasaray lifted the trophy; the game ended 0-0 but the Turks prevailed on penalties.
Arsenal also lost in the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup the season after they won that competition. In the 1994/95 decider, they were downed by Spanish side Real Zaragoza, losing 2-1 in extra time. That was not their first loss in the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup, though. That occurred in 1980, with Valencia becoming the eventual champions, again on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Can the Gunners Do It?
It is debatable what, if any, influence these past results will have on the final of the 2025/26 UCL final. History can weigh on fans and players, but this Arsenal group have no real connections to those past defeats. The bigger issue is quite simply how good PSG are.
The defending champions are rightfully favourites. However, in a one-off game, the Gunners clearly have a chance. If Arsenal’s central defenders, goalkeeper and Declan Rice are at their best, they might be able to keep PSG at bay and maybe, just maybe, nick a winner from a corner. 1-0 to the Arsenal?