Arsenal Champions League Final 2026: Can Arteta’s Team Be Better Than the Invincibles?
Arsenal face PSG in the 2026 Champions League final. With David Raya, Saliba, Gabriel and Rice leading the way, a win would make this Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal the greatest team in the club’s 139-year history.
Despite 14 league titles and 14 FA Cups, Arsenal have never won the Champions League. Beat PSG and Arteta’s men become the first Gunners side to lift Europe’s biggest trophy and end a 22-year league wait...
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are on the verge of going down as the club’s greatest team ever.
This Arsenal side have already written themselves into club history by ending a 22-year wait for the Premier League title. One of football’s biggest clubs with a deep history and trophy cabinet, Arteta has turned them back into a global powerhouse. Now they’re preparing for a Champions League final against reigning champions PSG.
For all their success across 139 years, 14 league titles, a record 14 FA Cups, and two EFL Cups, Arsenal have never left a major mark on Europe. Their only continental trophy came in 1994 when they lifted the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
The one trophy that’s eluded them is the biggest one. Before this season, their sole Champions League final appearance was in 2006, when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona in heartbreaking fashion.
But they have a chance to fix that now and finally conquer the last frontier.
That raises the question: where would this Arsenal side rank in the club’s history if they clear the final hurdle?
First off, there have clearly been
better Arsenal teams before. This probably isn’t even Arteta’s best version yet.
In 2023/24 Arsenal hit 89 points but finished 2 points behind Manchester City in second. You could argue that team was stronger, they just didn’t win any trophies.
Then you’ve got Arsene Wenger’s classic sides to consider.
The 1997/98 team that won the domestic double was outstanding. That squad had Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Ray Parlour, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka all firing.
And then there’s what’s likely Arsenal’s best team ever, the 2003/04 Invincibles.
They’re still the only Premier League team to go an entire season unbeaten. That team played with real style, swagger and flair.
Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp turned the opposition penalty area into their own canvas, while Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg lit up the wings.
Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva ran midfield with the perfect mix of relentless power and class on the ball.
Behind them, Lauren, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole formed a tough, athletic back four, and Jens Lehmann didn’t get the credit he deserved in goal.
But none of those sides managed to win the European Cup.
Going a whole season unbeaten is huge, but adding a first Champions League trophy plus a first league title in 22 years would top anything Arsenal have done. Do that and this team instantly becomes the club’s greatest ever.
And the current squad has serious quality too. David Raya is putting himself in the conversation as Arsenal’s best ever keeper, while Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are shaping up as one of the Premier League’s all-time best centre-back pairings.
The winner takes it all. pic.twitter.com/qadKGMPvOx
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 26, 2026
Declan Rice ranks among the best midfielders on the planet, and Bukayo Saka has been one of the top wingers in world football for years, even if this season hasn’t hit his usual standards.
But the final is a massive task for them.
PSG head into the game as clear favorites and are on the edge of winning back-to-back Champions League titles. Only Real Madrid have managed that, from 2016 to 2018.
They’re an electric side led by the best coach in the world, Luis Enrique. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is playing at a terrifying level, and Ousmane Dembele with Desire Doue complete a front three that’s almost impossible to stop. PSG are building their own dynasty.
But winning a first Champions League was always going to be tough, just like Arsenal’s Premier League win this year wasn’t straightforward. They made it tougher than it needed to be, which makes sense for a club carrying that kind of pressure.
Arsenal will look to make it a physical, aggressive battle and trust Europe’s best defence to keep PSG out.
To prove you’re the best, you have to beat the best. Mikel Arteta’s team now have the chance to go down as Arsenal’s greatest ever side.
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