Arsenal dressing room’s thoughts on facing PSG in Champions League final | Football | Sport
Arsenal players will ‘not fear’ facing PSG in the Champions League final (Image: 2026 James Gill – Danehouse)
Former Manchester City and England defender Nedum Onuoha believes Arsenal will have absolutely nothing to fear about facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, following last night’s clash against Bayern Munich. The north Londoners overcame Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate to secure their place in the final in Budapest later this month and will have been watching closely as Bayern took on PSG last night.
The French outfit headed into the second leg in Germany with a 5-4 advantage, and an early strike from Ousmane Dembele handed PSG a two-goal buffer to defend. Harry Kane netted a late consolation in the closing stages, but it proved insufficient to mount a comeback, with Onuoha left thoroughly impressed by PSG’s defensive display following a dramatic first leg on French soil.
Speaking on Match of The Day, Onuoha said: “If you are an Arsenal player watching this game, I don’t think you are worried at all. They will just be feeling happy that they are in the final.
“From their perspective, they have earned the right to relax and watch this tie play out. Then when it is all said and done, they can start to get excited when they know who they are going to face in Budapest.”
At the final whistle, the former City man added: “I was so impressed with PSG defensively tonight. Their work-rate was incredible.
“After the fast start they made with their goal, there was so much commitment all around the pitch to defend properly, and not in a way where they just drop in and park the bus.
“Instead they went man-to-man and were trying to win their duels and that was all across the board – it wasn’t just the defenders, the midfielders, the attackers, it was everyone.
“I think everyone played their role magnificently and as a consequence Bayern were nowhere near as creative as the side we saw a week ago.”
With a month remaining to make this the most unforgettable season in the club’s history, the Gunners find themselves in prime position to clinch the Premier League title.
PSG are looking to win back-to-back Champions League titles (Image: Getty)
The showdown with PSG is a rematch of last season’s Champions League semi-final, in which the French outfit triumphed 3-1 on aggregate en route to lifting the trophy.
Mikel Arteta‘s men will be hungry for revenge, and Bukayo Saka has already dropped a significant hint that the Gunners are determined to get the better of Luis Enrique’s side this time around.
When quizzed on CBS Sports on Tuesday evening about his preferred opponents in the final, Saka said: “Come on, man… you can’t ask me that. I’d have to give a media-trained answer.”
Pressed further on the matter, he added: “You know deep down who we’d want to face in the final.”
While deliberately cryptic, Saka’s response has led supporters to speculate that he had PSG in mind, with Arsenal eager for revenge against the French giants.
PSG knocked Arsenal out of the competition at the semi-final stage this time last year, triumphing 3-1 on aggregate.
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