Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday, May 30, at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
The match will decide the European club champion for the 2025 season.
Paris Saint-Germain enters as the defending champion after defeating Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2025 final. The French club aims to secure consecutive titles.
Arsenal reached the final after winning its first English Premier League title in 22 years. The Gunners secured the domestic crown following Manchester City's defeat against Bournemouth.
This will be Arsenal's 240th match in the competition. The club holds the record for the second-most appearances without winning the tournament, behind Dynamo Kyiv.
Arsenal's only previous final appearance came in 2006, when it lost to Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain won its first title last year after losing the 2020 final to Bayern Munich.
Underdog Status and Preparation
Football pundit Gary Neville described Arsenal as underdogs against the French champions ahead of the final.
Arsenal rotated its squad during its final league match against Crystal Palace after securing the domestic title early.
"Everyone wants to know about the celebrations," joked Noni Madueke. "Don't you want to talk about the Champions League?"
The player emphasized that the squad maintains high internal expectations regardless of external pressure.
"Okay, the pressure of the Champions League is there, but pressure is with us all the time. This is Arsenal Football Club.
One of the biggest teams in England. The Champions League is, of course, the big one," said Madueke.
Neville indicated that the French club presents a major challenge for the newly crowned Premier League winners.
"This is an incredible opportunity to stretch beyond anything you could ever imagine as an Arsenal fan, because they've never won that trophy.
And that's the next step after winning a league," said Neville.
Path to Glory
Neville stated that defeating Paris Saint-Germain would require overcoming one of the most successful managers in modern football.
"I'm really happy for them for what they've achieved this week, they should celebrate it, and they have.
But now they've got a Champions League final, if they can go win that next weekend, they'll have beaten the best.
They'll have to beat a Luis Enrique Paris Saint-Germain team and a Pep Guardiola Manchester City team. That's the way to do it," said Neville.
Neville added that the path to a historic double requires conquering the elite teams of Europe.
"If you're going to go and win your first Premier League title for 22 years, go and beat the greatest of all time.
If you're going to go and win the Champions League, go and beat the current holders and one of the greatest managers that Europe has seen in the last 10, 15 years," said Neville.
Neville noted that Paris Saint-Germain possesses an intense competitive drive under its current management.
"It's going to be tough for them. PSG are a different level.
They've got one of those managers who is just a serial winner, that horribleness inside them that they'll do anything to win," said Neville.
Neville expressed that achieving successive continental titles would elevate the French club's historical standing.
"Luis Enrique is probably the greatest manager in the world right now, with Pep Guardiola. This is his moment.
Arsenal are going to be right up against it. If you can win back-to-back Champions Leagues, you put yourself on a different planet.
And that's what he wants, he wants to beat all the records," said Neville.
Neville concluded that the English club must deliver a resilient performance to claim the trophy.
"It's going to be very difficult for Arsenal because they're up against a team that are special and know how to do it," said Neville.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 11 a. m.
ET in Budapest.
