At a Glance:
Arsenal play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday.
The French side are an outstanding team with immense talent.
However, they do have a potential weakness that Mikel Arteta should exploit.
Arsenal face an outstanding Paris Saint-Germain side in the Champions League final on Saturday evening, and Mikel Arteta must subsequently look for any minor weaknesses to exploit in Luis Enrique’s side’s armoury.
PSG won the competition last season, beating Liverpool and the Gunners on the way to the final, before dismantling Inter Milan in Munich in the showpiece event. Such is the calibre of team the French giants are, they’ve now reached the same stage of Europe’s elite club competition for the second consecutive campaign.
Arteta’s outfit may be Premier League champions, but they’ve not faced many sides at the level of PSG this season. He will need to prepare a thorough game plan to overcome the Parisians, and it ought to involve exposing a glaring hole in Enrique’s tactical set-up.
Arsenal need to exploit space left by Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes
PSG are an offensive team that rely on their high press, quick transitions and crucially, the positioning of their full-backs, to create chances. The third and final facet is imperative to how Enrique’s side functions.
Achraf Hakimi pushes forward down the right side consistently throughout matches, often underlapping Desire Doue, although frequently overlapping as well. The Moroccan is PSG’s extra man in attack.
While Nuno Mendes is more restrained than his right-sided counterpart, often sitting deeper and helping to progress the ball through his expansive passing, the Portuguese does like to burst forward into the final third with aggressive ball carries.
Instead of being overly concerned about these two threats, Arsenal should see them as a potential area they can exploit. Hakimi will be caught high up the field, while if Mendes can be tackled on one of his lung-bursting runs forward, then there will space on both flanks for the Gunners to attack.
📋 The squad for the final! ⚔️🔴🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/7Zon8q9KZi
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 29, 2026
As an aggressive counter-tactic to Enrique’s full-back ploys, Arteta should instruct one of his two wingers to remain high and wide. Ideally it’d be Bukayo Saka, although the left-side makes more sense as Hakimi is the one who will vacate the most space.
The former Real Madrid defender is a doubt for this game, although his inclusion in Enrique’s travelling squad suggests he’ll probably be fine to start.
Eberechi Eze could start off the left, and this could suit him. While an ever-improving defender, the England international isn’t a natural out-of-possession player.
Starting Eze off the left could liberate him to be the free man who waits high up the pitch to exploit the space left by Hakimi, rather than having him remain deep and work hard defensively.
Arsenal need to be brave against PSG
Positioning one winger high and wide is just one of a number of aggressive and brave ploys Arteta needs to make in Budapest. Against a team of PSG’s attacking calibre, it can be easy to cower and resort to negative tactics.
However, the key is to instead take the game to the French side, and prevent them from playing in the forward areas they want to play in.
Arsenal must press high. If they can win the ball high up the pitch and enjoy some sustained waves of pressure through possession, PSG will struggle.
Enrique’s team aren’t good at defending their box, so the Gunners must force them to do this. Arsenal can also dominate from set-pieces with their superior physicality.