The 2025/2026 Champions League final will see Arsenal take on PSG. And the Gunners’ manager is confident.
The stage is set. Budapest’s Puskas Arena will host the Champions League final and see either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal lift the trophy. The Red and Blues are hoping to achieve the feat of winning their second consecutive Champions League title, whilst the Gunners dream of being crowned champions for the first time in their history on the continental stage. Judging by the semi-finals, pundits are tipping Luis Enrique’s side as favourites for this clash. The defending champions have gone from strength to strength as the tournament has progressed and have impressed both with the quality of their play and their ability to dig deep together to get a result.
But Arsenal do not seem intimidated. And with good reason. The London club may not be as exciting to watch as PSG, but they dominated the group stage and are in a very strong position to achieve a historic Premier League-Champions League double. Speaking two days before the match against West Ham, Mikel Arteta made it clear that he was confident in his players’ ability to beat Paris. “That’s just how it is. We know the calibre of our opponents, whether it’s PSG or Bayern Munich. We know what they’re capable of, but we’re also very confident: when the time comes, we’ll do what’s needed.”
Arteta more motivated than ever
Speaking confidently, Arteta then addressed the criticism his team has faced. Such criticism serves as motivation for the Spanish coach. “I accept that criticism can be positive or negative. It’s what makes us better and pushes us to raise the bar higher to compete in Europe’s two toughest competitions. You have to be ready for that. We had a chat straight after the match. What a moment! We deserved it,” he added, before explaining that his priority remains winning the Gunners’ 14th English league title after a 22-year drought.
“We’ll have time to prepare for the final, but for now, all our focus, attention to detail and energy must be devoted to West Ham. Stay in the present. Live in the moment. Get ready and show the same level of energy, fighting spirit and desire that we’ve shown all season, if not more. We’re getting closer and closer, and everything we do will count.” Will Arsenal have the greatest season in their history? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.
Bayern Munich have identified the reason for their elimination by PSG
Following their elimination by PSG in the Champions League, Bayern Munich are trying to understand why it didn’t work out. Across the Rhine, there is an explanation.
Bayern Munich must move on. But just a few days ago, the German club was still harbouring hopes of overturning the deficit against PSG at home and qualifying for the Champions League final. But Vincent Kompany and the Bavarians’ plan fell through. The blame lies with Luis Enrique and his staff, who devised a diabolical strategy, followed to the letter by the players. After falling behind 1-0 very early on following Ousmane Dembélé’s opener, the Germans eventually snatched a draw late in the game thanks to Harry Kane (1-1). Eliminated from the Champions League, the Rekordmeister have promised to learn from their mistakes and come back even stronger. Manuel Neuer spoke about this in particular after the match.
“We didn’t have any clear-cut chances today (Wednesday), but we still created enough to score. We lacked the killer instinct that PSG showed to seal the match. We were close to the final, but we couldn’t quite take that final step. Our goal simply came too late. We missed the key moments tonight.” Vincent Kompany added: “I know how difficult it is to win the Champions League and how much it comes down to the finer details. We’ll do everything we can to do better next season. And I also hope we’ll have some of those refereeing decisions in our favour.” While Bayern Munich were unhappy with the refereeing on Wednesday, the club believes that this was not the reason for their failure. At least, not the only one.
Bayern Munich lacked enough options
Across the Rhine, there is talk of the depth of the squad and the lack of options for Kompany, who was unable to alter his game plan on Wednesday when his team were trailing. This argument was first put forward by *Bild*, which suggested that the German side needed to make changes to their squad to take their Champions League campaign to the next level. An opinion shared by *Sport 1*. Whilst PSG were able to bring on fresh players on Wednesday evening, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany was virtually powerless (…) The coach then made several changes. Whilst Alphonso Davies did indeed inject some dynamism into the team, the expected impact from Min-jae Kim, Lennart Karl and Nicolas Jackson failed to materialise. Is the Munich squad ultimately too small?”
Sport 1 continues: “The fact is that Kompany has managed to compensate for every absence throughout the season, and the drop in quality has been minimal. His team has dominated its opponents in both the Champions League and the Bundesliga. But the fact is that they failed against Paris. Firstly, PSG’s quality on the pitch thwarted any attempt at a comeback, and secondly, the visitors still had top-class players fresh on the bench.” A valid point, yet a few days before the match, many German media outlets were claiming that Bayern would physically dominate a PSG side that had looked to be running on empty in the first leg. Stefan Kumberger, editor-in-chief of Sport 1, touched on this subject.
The transfer window will help us find the missing piece of the puzzle
“Paris could have brought Barcola on at some point. As for Bayern, it was Lennart Karl. I don’t hold it against him; after all, he’s only 18 and was injured. When you have a full squad, with the exception of Serge Gnabry, and you can’t bring on anyone capable of turning the game around, that says something. No player on the bench was capable of turning the match around. Of course, this raises the question of squad size. The squad is big enough to have a very good season like the one we’re currently enjoying. But for matches like the one against Paris, the bench is simply too thin.” An opinion shared by Christian Falk and Julian Agardi, who spoke of the squad’s “lack of depth” in SportBild.
This was not necessarily Max Eberl’s view. During the season, the sporting director defended himself against those who accuse Bayern of having too small a squad. However, the German sports press reports that the Munich side are set to go on the offensive this summer. Bild reported yesterday on reinforcements in defence, both in central defence and at full-back, as well as an attacking signing. Anthony Gordon (Newcastle) is the priority. Bradley Barcola (PSG) is also mentioned as a possibility. What is certain is that the club will be making moves, according to Sport1. “The upcoming summer transfer window will likely be the focus of discussions at Monday’s supervisory board meeting. The club’s management could then reconsider its position and ultimately conclude that further investment in the squad is necessary.” The elimination at the hands of PSG will serve as a lesson for Bayern Munich, who are seeking to understand why they were knocked out. Perhaps simply because PSG were too strong…
