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Arsenal’s pursuit of Champions League glory in Saturday’s final is likely to depend heavily on how well the core of their team deals with a rampaging Paris St Germain side.
With the pressure of trying to deliver the Premier League title now released, Arsenal are seeking a glittering double and proof they are firmly part of Europe’s elite.
They face a formidable challenge in Budapest against Luis Enrique’s outstanding PSG team, with their rare blend of eye-catching flair, intelligence and hard graft.
But Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has built a spine to his side that might just be the perfect foil.
At its base, goalkeeper David Raya has kept nine clean sheets in Arsenal’s 14-game unbeaten run to the final.
Arteta acknowledges he ruffled some feathers when he brought the Spaniard in three years ago but views it as one of the decisions that helped Arsenal clinch their first domestic title in 22 years and reach their first Champions League final in 20.
Arteta said the Premier League win had not lifted the pressure off his side’s players; rather, it had fuelled their fire to avenge their defeat by PSG in last year’s semi-finals.
“The ambition is bigger,” Arteta told reporters on Friday. “We have won and we want the second one… That has to be a platform to reach bigger destinations.”
Arteta said he had no doubts about his team deserving their place on the biggest stage, but had to prove on Saturday they deserve to be crowned champions.
“We are here because we’ve earned the right to be here, in the manner that we have performed in this competition — tomorrow on that field we have to earn the right to win the trophy,” said the coach.
In central defence, the pace and ball-playing composure of Frenchman William Saliba is balanced perfectly by Brazilian Gabriel Magalhaes’ raw aggression and knack of scoring vital goals – usually from corners.
Gabriel, 28, joined Arsenal in 2020, less than a year after Arteta took over, and while there was talk they might have to sell him to raise funds at one stage that now seems unthinkable.
The centre back has consistently proved his importance to the side, such as the last-ditch intervention that prevented Atletico Madrid’s Giuliano Simeone levelling in the semi-final.
In big games “somebody has to deliver a magic moment”, Arteta said, “and Gabriel again delivered that”.
MIDFIELD HORSEPOWER: If Arsenal are to prevent PSG running wild, as they did in last year’s 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the showpiece match, £105 million ($141 million) record signing Declan Rice will have to be firing on all cylinders in midfield.
Dubbed “the horse” due to the amount of work he gets through, the 27-year-old’s relentless running, pinpoint set-pieces and tireless tackling are central to Arsenal’s game.
He played in all but one of Arsenal’s Premier League matches before they wrapped up the title and has racked up well over 3,000 minutes in all competitions this season, second to Raya.
“It’s a final, anything can happen,” Rice told the BBC. “We are going to be ready for it. We want the double.”
At the top of Arsenal’s spine is likely to be close-season signing Viktor Gyokeres, who has scored five goals in the Champions League campaign.
That might look modest compared to the 10 of PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but the Sweden striker also triggers Arsenal’s early press — key to why PSG coach Luis Enrique thinks his opponents are “the best team in the world without the ball.”
Enrique insisted his team are not favourites to defend their crown.
“Finals are always difficult games, last year was exceptional, we did dominate against Inter,” said the Asturian coach.
“In the final tomorrow I don’t think there’s a favourite and, I’m being honest with you, for us the devil is in the detail. It will be a very close call.
“We will have to give our all for the 90 minutes but also enjoy them. There’s waves of tension but it’s also about knowing how to manage that stress.”
Luis Enrique said the clash of styles between PSG and Arsenal was not as apparent as some make out, despite the disparity in the teams’ statistics.
“I’d say that rather than two different approaches, they are two similar approaches but with different tactics, because they are a team that also scores goals, and we are a team that also defends well, but we do so in different ways,” added the coach.
Agencies
