Paris Saint-Germain are not favourites to beat Arsenal in Saturday's Champions League final, coach Luis Enrique said on Friday, despite his side's bid to retain the trophy.
Issued on: 30/05/2026 - 09:34
3 min Reading time
PSG walloped Inter Milan 5-0 in last season's final in Munich to lift European football's most coveted trophy for the first time. Should they beat the English Premier League champions, PSG will become only the second club after Real Madrid to retain the trophy since the Champions League era began in 1992-93. "When you're talking about finals, it's always difficult," Enrique said on the eve of the clash at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. "Last year was an exception. It wasn't a real reflection of the difference between Inter Milan and PSG. But football is often like that. "Against Arsenal, there isn't really a favourite. But what will be true is the winner will be the one who can exploit the fine details and concentrate during the entire match." Enrique said the two teams were more alike than many people suggested. "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." Journey to the final PSG finished the league phase of the competition in 11th place, meaning they had to play a two-leg play-off for one of the eight places in the last 16. They overcame Ligue 1 rivals Monaco 5-4 on aggregate to move into the last-16 where they racked up eight goals against Chelsea to reach the quarter-finals. In the last eight, they saw off another English Premier League side in the shape of Liverpool and then beat Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. Arsenal came top of the league phase following six wins and two draws and moved directly into the last-16 where Mikel Arteta's side dispatched the German Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen. In the quarter-finals, Arsenal moved past Sporting and in the semi-finals beat Atletico Madrid to reach the final for the first time since 2006. Champions League: PSG boss Enrique vows to attack Bayern in push for final Motivation Arsenal have never won the Champions League, just as PSG had not until lifting the trophy last season. "It's powerful," Enrique said of Arsenal's motivation to win the competition for the first time. "But you know how powerful it is to try to win the second Champions League in a row? It's bigger!" "Arsenal are a very good team. We’ve seen that and they deserve to be in the final," PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé said. The 29-year-old France international was part of Enrique's side that won the trophy last year along with the Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France, French Super Cup as well as the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. "They deserve to have won the Premier League. They're strong in every area, whether it's in attack or defence. They're also formidable on set pieces – everyone knows that," Dembélé added. "I think they have a very good coach, too. He has done a tremendous job. It's been four or five years that he's been at Arsenal. It wasn't easy at first, but in the end he deserved to have won the Premier League and to be in the Champions League final." Enrique confirmed that Achraf Hakimi will be fit to play on Saturday night. The 27-year-old Morocco international injured his thigh during the first leg of the semi-final but has recovered and is expected to start on the right side of the defence.
