PSG Secures Key Players Ahead of Champions League Final vs Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain will travel to the Champions League final with two of their biggest question marks firmly on board. Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele, both serious doubts in the build-up, have been named in Luis Enrique’s squad to face Arsenal on Saturday.
For PSG, that changes the mood. Completely.
Hakimi has not played since pulling up with a hamstring injury in the first leg of the semi-final against Bayern Munich. Dembele limped out of the final Ligue 1 game of the season against Paris FC. Both injuries threatened to strip PSG of vital pace and incision on the flanks on the biggest night of their season.
Instead, they are on the plane. Their presence does not guarantee a start, but it does send a clear signal: Enrique expects to have his weapons available.
Hakimi knows this stage better than most in this squad. He scored the opener in last season’s final, setting PSG on their way to a ruthless 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan and a long-awaited Champions League crown. He returns now with the chance to shape another showpiece, this time against an Arsenal side newly crowned champions of England.
Arsenal arrive in Hungary hunting a double, the Premier League trophy barely a week old in their hands. The Gunners’ season already carries the sheen of something special; adding Europe’s biggest prize would elevate it into club folklore. Kick-off is at 5pm, and they will walk out knowing they must dethrone the holders to finish the job.
They, too, have had their own fitness saga.
Jurrien Timber, sidelined since March with a hamstring injury sustained against Everton, has been included in the travelling group after returning to training this week. The Dutch defender has missed 14 games across all competitions, but his presence restores depth and versatility to Mikel Arteta’s defensive options at a critical moment.
PSG, though, sound in no mood to surrender their crown.
On the eve of the final, winger Bradley Barcola set the tone. Speaking to club media, he framed the occasion not as a burden, but as a privilege.
“It’s a great honour to be playing in a second final,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to win it. We’re trying to build as much confidence as possible ahead of this final, and we’re going to work hard to make sure we’re ready.
“I really think it’s our collective strength. The fact that we play together, attack together and defend together. We really play as a team, and that’s our greatest strength right now.”
That unity already broke Arsenal once. PSG knocked the Gunners out at the semi-final stage last season, winning 3-1 on aggregate and finishing the job in the second leg with goals from Fabian Ruiz and Hakimi. The scars from that tie will not have fully faded in north London.
This time, Arsenal arrive as English champions, sharper, harder, more ruthless in both boxes. PSG arrive as holders, battle-hardened and with the memory of last year’s final rout still fresh. Both sides know the other’s strengths. Both know the other’s pain points.
The margins, as ever at this level, will be thin.
Luis Enrique’s Confirmed Squad
Goalkeepers: Chevalier, Safonov, Renato Marin.
Defenders: Hakimi, Beraldo, Marquinhos, Zabarnyi, L. Hernandez, Nuno Mendes, Pacho.
Midfielders: Fabian, Vitinha, Mayulu, Dro, Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves.
The names are familiar. The stakes are not new. The twist lies elsewhere.
Arsenal come chasing a statement to define an era. PSG come hunting validation that last year was not a one-off, but the start of a reign.
Only one of them will leave Hungary with that story intact.
