PSG Welcomes Hakimi and Dembele for Champions League Final Against Arsenal

Paris Saint-Germain will walk into Saturday’s Champions League final with two of their biggest weapons on board. Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele, both serious doubts in the build-up, have been named in Luis Enrique’s travelling squad to face Arsenal.

For PSG, that changes the tone of the week.

Hakimi has not played since pulling up with a hamstring problem 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 looked like the kind of injuries that keep managers awake at night before a final. Both are now on the plane.

Their presence does not guarantee they start, but it sends a clear message: Enrique expects them to be ready. Hakimi, in particular, carries a sense of occasion. The full-back opened the scoring in last season’s final, setting PSG on their way to a ruthless 5-0 dismantling of Inter Milan and their first European crown. He knows this stage, and he enjoys it.

Arsenal know exactly what they are up against. PSG are not just champions of Europe; they are the team that ended Arsenal’s run in this competition last season, winning their semi-final 3-1 on aggregate. Fabian Ruiz and Hakimi struck in the second leg to slam the door on Mikel Arteta’s side. That sting still lingers.

This time, Arsenal arrive as Premier League champions. Less than a week has passed since they lifted the trophy, a campaign of relentlessness capped by a title that has reset expectations in north London. Now comes the question: can they add Europe to it?

Kick-off in Hungary is set for 5pm, and both clubs travel with quiet confidence and very public ambition.

Arsenal have had their own injury cloud to clear. Jurrien Timber, out since March with a hamstring injury sustained against Everton, has been named in their travelling squad after returning to training this week. The Dutch defender has missed 14 consecutive matches in all competitions. His inclusion does not automatically mean he starts, but like Hakimi and Dembele, his name on the list offers a psychological lift.

PSG, though, sound in no mood to play the role of generous holders.

Bradley Barcola, preparing for a second straight Champions League final, laid out the mindset inside the French champions’ camp. Speaking to club media, the winger called it “a great honour” to be back on this stage and made the promise that PSG “are going to do everything we can to win it.” The emphasis, as ever under Enrique, is on the collective. Barcola highlighted the way this PSG side “play together, attack together and defend together,” insisting that unity is their greatest strength.

That togetherness has been the thread running through their European campaign. When the pressure has risen, PSG have leaned on structure and shared responsibility rather than individual chaos. Against an Arsenal side that thrives on coordinated pressing and positional play, that collective edge will be tested again.

Squad Overview

The holders travel with a squad that looks balanced and battle-hardened:

• Goalkeepers: Chevalier, Safonov, Renato Marin.
• Defenders: Hakimi, Beraldo, Marquinhos, Zabarnyi, L. Hernandez, Nuno Mendes, Pacho.
• Midfielders: Fabian, Vitinha, Mayulu, Dro, Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves.

Names that speak of continuity at the back, creativity in the middle, and enough depth for Enrique to tweak his approach if the final turns into a tactical chess match.

Arsenal’s task is stark. Stop PSG defending their title. Stop Hakimi raiding from deep. Stop a midfield that suffocated them 12 months ago. And do it while carrying the weight of being English champions, with a fanbase suddenly daring to dream of a double.

PSG, for their part, know what it takes to walk into a final and dominate it. Arsenal have just learned how to go the distance in a title race. One side defending a crown, the other chasing a new ceiling.

In 90 minutes – or perhaps 120 – we find out whose season becomes truly era-defining.