See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy HARRY BAMFORTH, LIVE SPORTS COVERAGE REPORTER and OLIVER HOLT, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER and IAN LADYMAN, FOOTBALL EDITOR and ISAAN KHAN, REPORTER Updated: 15:46 BST, 30 May 2026
Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as PSG take on Arsenal in the 2025-26 Champions League final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, with Oliver Holt, Ian Ladyman and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.14:46Arsenal Team News - Lewis-Skelly STARTSWow...14:43Will Timber start?This is the question on everybody's lips.Jurrien Timber was arguably the best right-back in the Premier League before picking up an injury that kept him out for the final two months of the top-flight season.With Ben White injured, Gunners fans were hoping that Timber would be fit to return for this final, and well, yesterday Mikel Arteta said he could even start.We will find out whether he was just pulling our legs or not soon.14:40'Arsenal players booed'A few of the Arsenal players - Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Jurrien Timber, Calafiori - have just walked out on to the pitch and were roundly booed by the PSG fans.14:39Arsenal arrive It's feeling real now, very real.Mikel Arteta has just led his troops into the battlefield as they prepare to scrap with PSG for the European crown.It's fair to say that everybody looked relaxed as they arrived at the Puskas Arena. No, there weren't any giggles or gags, just serious faces, but still.Not long until we find out the team news now.14:35'Arteta will continue to dominate with Arsenal'Theo Walcott, former Arsenal star and OPPO ambassador, speaking about Mikel Arteta:Well, as a person, he's very intense. I always felt when he came to the club, this is a man that's gonna be captain. But not just that, I just think the way he kind of held himself, the way he moved across from Everton across to Arsenal, he was always a man that you'd wanna listen to. The insight, who he's worked with, but not just that, it's his work ethic.He set the example. He always was so strict with habits, good habits. And at times when players didn't wanna do something, he made sure you did it. And I feel like his attitude says it itself how successful he's been at this moment in time. I think if they, or when they win the Champions League, I think we'll be saying we've known Mikel Arteta since he was at Arsenal, uh, coming through. So yeah, I always felt he could be a captain and a leader and a manager.The club have had that patience I think he relates to a lot of the players because he's only just finished going to where they've gone as well. I think that connection with also the person and the actual player, I think, helps. He gets those connections, and he's really changed the whole culture of the club. Uh, and I think that's a credit to him and his staff.I mean, when I go to the training ground, it's so positive. You walk in, the spirit of everyone there, um, I think that's, like I said, talk about good habits, and he's created that. He's been very successful, and I think he's gonna continue to just dominate now. I do.14:32Arsenal chasing DOUBLECome 7pm tonight, we could well be calling this season the greatest in Arsenal's 140-year history.If they win, we will be.Arsenal aren't just chasing their first Champions League triumph, but also a historic double that would go down as the greatest achievement ever from the club.Of course, the Invincibles were not only incredible but unprecedented, but winning both the Premier League and Champions League in the same season would see this club reach new heights.If they manage it, I'd argue that Mikel Arteta would go down as Arsenal's best-ever manager. Sounds crazy given they used to have Arsene Wenger, but I stand by it.Arteta brought them back from the doldrums of despair to a first Premier League title in 22 years, and possibly a first European Cup ever.But hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves... they still have to do the job.And it's not an easy job, is it?14:28'PSG fans in early'PSG supporters are filling up the stadium early. Ultras, all in white, are bouncing up and down behind the goal. Drums are beating, flags are flying. They're going to be exhausted by kick-off.14:24'Nowhere near as hot as yesterday'Hello from inside the beautifully modern PUSKÁS Stadium in Budapest. There are quite a few fans in already even though we are still a little under two hours from kick off.The good news for both teams is that it's nowhere near as hot as it was yesterday. There is a fair amount of cloud cover and it should be perfect for football by the time we reach 6pm local time.14:21Enrique: 'B2B gives us motivation'Luis Enrique, PSG boss, on Friday:It is a source of motivation, we've already gone down as one of the best teams in the world and in Europe. No other team has had to deal with a schedule as bad as ours. It caused us to lose games, but it also helped us grow.On Arsenal:Arsenal were worthy Premier League champions. They were the best team and most consistent. They deserve the title.14:17Can PSG go back-to-back?They've been here before...In fact, it's almost 12 months to the day since PSG took to the pitch in Munich and didn't just beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but wiped the floor with them.It was the most dominant performance we have ever seen in the final of this great competition; they tore Inter limb from limb, beating them 5-0 to secure 'Ol Big Ears for the first time in the club's history.And here they are, a year later, looking to do the same again.It's funny because their campaign has been almost identical to last season, when they won it: Rubbish in the groups, beat a fellow French side in the play-offs, dispatch of multiple English teams in knockouts, and then be favourites in the final.They have once again come into their own in the second half of this season, and it would take a brave man to bet against them today, no matter how brilliant Arsenal are.I don't suspect this final to be as easy as the last, but PSG will be very confident they can get the job done again.A big night ahead.14:14Arteta: 'Opportunity to write a new chapter'Mikel Arteta, Arsenal boss, speaking on Friday:Great, the preparation has been really good, really focused, really positive. We are here because we earned the right to be here. In the manner that we have played and performed in the competition, and tomorrow on that field we are going to have to earn the right to go and win the trophy.I think it is the opportunity to own the moment because, as you said, it is the second time in our history that we are here and we have the opportunity tomorrow to write a new chapter in the history of this football club. In order to do that, we have to play tomorrow with such clarity, a lot of courage and a relentless desire to win. If we have those three aspects, I am sure we are going to be close to winning.14:10Gunning to make history1886.That was the year that Arsenal were formed.140 years have passed since the club was created by munitions workers in south London, and despite becoming one of English football's most successful clubs in that time, they have never tasted glory in Europe.The side of 2006 came close, as you know, but even a team managed by Arsene Wenger and captained by Thierry Henry fell at the final hurdle (we will get to this later).The Champions League, or European Cup as it was formally known, has always evaded even the best of Arsenal sides, and it's something that has always provided ammunition for rivals fans when it comes to debates on who are the biggest team in England.But tonight, Mikel Arteta and his players can make history.The Gunners are just one game away from securing their first-ever Champions League title, 20 years on from the pain of Paris.This is the club's biggest game in two decades, maybe even the biggest in their history.Can they finally get their hands on 'Ol Big Ears at last?Key UpdatesAll eyes on Budapest
