Arsenal in a Champions League final. Let me just sit with that for a second. After years of watching them bottle top four races, implode in big moments and generally find new and creative ways to break their fans' hearts, they are actually in the final. Fair play. Genuinely, fair play.
Now PSG are standing in the way and on paper this looks like a nightmare matchup. Dembélé has been absolutely terrifying this season, Barcola is rapid, and Fabian Ruiz has quietly been one of the best midfielders in Europe. Luis Enrique has built something really exciting in Paris and they are not just a collection of ego and expensive hair anymore. They are a proper team.
But here is the thing. Arsenal have been absolutely resolute at the back this season. Raya has been brilliant. Saliba and Gabriel are probably the best centre back partnership in the league right now. They do not panic, they do not gift teams goals, they make you work for absolutely everything. PSG will find it hard going.
The worry for Arsenal fans is always the same one though. The big moment arrives and somehow, someway, it slips through their fingers. You know the feeling. It is almost baked into their DNA at this point. Like Rocky before he finally beat Apollo, there is always that question of whether they can actually finish the job when it matters most.
Mikel Arteta though deserves enormous credit. He has turned this club from a mess into something with genuine identity, shape and belief. His team knows how to defend deep and hit on the counter. Against PSG that could actually work brilliantly. Let them have the ball, stay compact, and nick one on the break through Saka or Martinelli.
If Arsenal keep it tight for the first hour, PSG will get nervous. Big finals do strange things to teams who are expected to win. The pressure is arguably more on Paris than it is on Arsenal here. Nobody really expected Arsenal to get this far. That freedom could be the most dangerous thing they carry into that final.
Let me know your thoughts.