At a Glance:
Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
The Gunners now have five days to prepare for the Champions League final.
Here is Mikel Arteta’s full plan for the rest of the week.
Arsenal finally got their hands on the Premier League trophy on Sunday afternoon at Selhurst Park, and they now have six days to prepare for the Champions League final in Budapest.
The Gunners were coronated in South London, lifting the iconic piece of silverware in front of 3,000 travelling supporters in the away end. Wild celebrations ensued at the home of Palace, while thousands of fans piled onto the streets of North London to bask in the glory of Mikel Arteta’s side’s achievement.
Attention now swiftly turns to the European showdown at the Puskas Arena against Paris Saint-Germain. Arteta is confident in his team’s ability to overcome the French giants, although it’ll certainly be a hugely challenging test for the Gunners.
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— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 25, 2026
Arsenal’s pre-Champions League final plans
Arsenal have reportedly been planning for the Champions League final for several weeks, with Arteta and his coaching staff preparing a game plan that they feel can conquer Luis Enrique’s outfit. These preparations are now set to be taken up another level, with the domestic season over and the final just five days away.
According to Football.London, Arteta gave his players a day off on Monday, after celebrations went long into the night on Sunday. Training will then resume on Tuesday, with those not involved in the match on Sunday expected to be put through more taxing drills than those who were.
The Arsenal. Your Premier League champions. pic.twitter.com/gNnfzesrhP
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 19, 2026
The squad will then train again on Wednesday and Thursday morning, before flying out to Budapest on Thursday afternoon. They’ll also hold an open training session at the Puskas Arena on Friday, before Arteta speaks to the media at 5:15pm that day.
The final kicks off at 5pm on Saturday, before the trophy parade commences back in North London at 2pm on Sunday.
Arsenal need to lean into defensive resilience in Champions League final
Arteta’s prospective game plan should be centred around how to negate PSG. Not only do the Parisians boast an array of frightening attacking players, but Arsenal’s strength is their defence – they’d be stupid not to lean into this.
PSG’s flexible front three rotate around the pitch. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue are all outstanding at popping up in different areas to pick up the ball and run with it.
Arsenal need to be prepared for these positional rotations and have a clear plan of how to stop them. Whether that means deploying an aggressive man-to-man system or a more zonal method of defending is up to Arteta to decide.
The Gunners should remain compact, play largely without the ball and then look to hit PSG on the counter-attack with swift transitions. This is clearly their best route to success.