The current champions of two great footballing nations, Paris Saint-Germain of France and Arsenal of England, are facing off against each other for Europe’s most coveted club trophy in the 2026 UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary, tonight, 30 May.
PSG are coming into the game as reigning UCL champions, after they delivered the largest margin of victory in last year’s final, a 5–0 win over the Italian side Inter Milan. They will have the chance to claim their second UCL title, along with becoming the first team to defend their title in the competition since Real Madrid in 2018.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are chasing their first UCL trophy. This is the Gunners’ second time reaching the final: in 2006, they lost to FC Barcelona 2–1.
Both teams are coached by Spaniards. Head coach Luis Enrique is in charge of PSG, while manager Mikel Arteta is at the helm at Arsenal. In fact, the two coaches’ playing careers briefly overlapped at FC Barcelona.
Starting Line-Ups for PSG v Arsenal
PSG: Safonov 39 — Hakimi 2, Marquinhos 5 (CPT), Pacho 51, Mendes 25 — Fabián Ruiz 8, Vitinha 17, Neves 87 — Doué 14, Dembélé 10, Kvaratskhelia 7.
Arsenal: Raya 1 — Mosquera 3, Saliba 2, Gabriel 6, Hincapié 5 — Ødegaard 8 (CPT), Rice 41, Lewis-Skelly 49 — Saka 7, Havertz 29, Trossard 19.
The top scorer for the season for Arsenal, Swedish international (of Hungarian ancestry) striker Viktor Gyökeres, is noticeably absent from the Gunners’ starting 11. He is dropped in favour of Kai Havertz, who is better at the combinative build-up play.
Meanwhile, the biggest name not to make PSG’s line-up is the young French international midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery.
PSG v Arsenal LIVE Coverage
The PSG v Arsenal UEFA Champions League final in Budapest has now kicked off, and the game is underway.
1st minute: Free kick for Arsenal near the halfway line, Hakimi committed the first foul of the game. The ball goes out for a goal kick, no real threat.
6th minute: GOAL FOR ARSENAL! 1–0, KAI HAVERTZ
Havertz received a ball from Trossard near the halfway line and managed to break away on the left flank. He ran down to the 6-yard box, then fired the ball into Safonov’s net from a tight angle.
11th minute: Great clearance from Gabriel ahead of Kvaratskhelia at the Arsenal end.
13th minute: Shot towards goal by PSG’s Fabián Ruiz from inside the box. The ball came to him behind the Arsenal defence line, but he fired way wide.
Halfway into the first half, PSG has a lot more of the ball (as it was expected before the game). Possession stats: 75 per cent–25 per cent to PSG. Shots: 1–1. Shots on target: 0–1 to Arsenal. Corners: 2–0 for PSG. Fouls: 3–3.
26th minute: Saliba dribbled the ball into the PSG half and played it to Saka on the right wing. Safonov got enough on Saka’s low cross into the box to deflect the danger.
30th minute: Scuffle in the Arsenal box where Mendes is down. The ball is eventually cleared by the Arsenal defence.
36th minute: Rice crossed the ball into the PSG box from a free kick near the halfway line. Gabriel headed it high, but a foul was called against the Gunners anyway.
43rd minute: Mendes dribbled inside the Arsenal box on the left flank near the byline. The cross was cleared by Saliba. Ruiz was able to head the clearance towards the goal, but it went high.
Six minutes added time.
45+2nd minute: Speculative long-range shot from Doué of Paris Saint-Germain. He missed by a lot, both high and wide.
45+3rd minute: Havertz’s shot is blocked by PSG defender Marquinhos; the deflected shot is collected by goalie Safonov.
45+4th minute: Ruiz fired a sharp cross into the box after he received the ball on the far side after a PSG corner. It was collected by Raya in Arsenal’s goal on the second try.
German referee Daniel Siebert blew for half-time while Arsenal were getting ready to take their first corner of the game. Thus, it remains a 1–0 ball game, with Arsenal in the lead.
FIRST HALF STATS FOR PSG V ARSENAL: Possession 77 per cent–23 per cent for PSG. Shots: 6–3 for PSG. Shots on target: 1–1. Corners: 4–0 for PSG. Fouls: 4–4. The stats show a dominance of the game for the Parisians, but Arsenal are in the lead.
The second half has kicked off, and the game is underway again.
47th minute: Mosquera gets a yellow card for delay of the game, the first booking of the match.
54th minute: The yellow card is out again, Saka is its recipient after a foul on Doué about 25 yards away from the Arsenal goal. Hakimi hit the target from the free kick, but it was collected by Raya.
62nd minute: PENALTY FOR PSG! Kvaratskhelia was fouled inside the Arsenal box by Mosquera. It was a clumsy challenge from behind near the sideline of the penalty area.
65th minute: GOAL FOR PSG!
Dembélé converts the penalty after sending Raya the wrong way. 1–1, the scoreline is level again!
66th minute: Double substitution for Arsenal: the booked Mosquera, who also gave away a penalty, is out for Jurrien Timber. Ødegaard is replaced by Viktor Gyökeres.
73rd minute: Long-range shot from Vitinha goes way high.
77th minute: Kvaratskhelia hits the Arsenal post after a long run down the left flank in a PSG counter-attack.
83rd minute: Two more subs for Arsenal by manager Arteta. Martinelli for Trossard, Noni Madueke for Saka. PSG are also making their first change. Player in: Bradley Barcola, player out: Kvaratskhelia.
85th minute: Raya makes a dashing run out of his goal to collect the ball from the feet of the freshly subbed-in Barcola in a crucial clearance.
87th minute: PSG keep taking corners with little to no threat. They are leading Arsenal 9–0 in corners.
89th minute: Vitinha takes a shot from the edge of the box after a second ball deflected from Doué, barely missing the top far corner.
Just like in the first half, six minutes added time.
90+5th minute: Yellow card for Neves for a tactical foul stopping a quick Arsenal counter. Meanwhile, Gonçalo Ramos is coming in for PSG, in place of goal scorer Dembélé.
90+7th minute: Barcola ran down the left wing after a quick PSG counter-attack. However, the angle got too tight and he shot over the bar.
REGULATION TIME IS NOW OVER. Referee Siebert blows for full time; we are getting ready for 2X15 minutes of extra time. This is the first time a UCL final has gone into extra time since 2016 (Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid 1–1, 5–3 on penalties).
The ball is kicked off, and the game is underway once again.
91st minute: The last two subs for Arsenal are made. They are also taking down their scorer, Ebrechi Eze, for Havertz. Also, Martin Zubimendi is coming in for Lewis-Skelly.
95th minute: Warren Zaïre-Emery is replacing Ruiz on the Parisian side.
99th minute: Gyökeres gets a yellow for a foul on Ramos in the middle of the Arsenal half.
100th minute: Hakimi lets one go from around 30 yards out, but the ambitious attempt poses no real threat to the Gunners’ goal.
103rd minute: Rice gets a yellow for protesting the referee. The entire Arsenal team and staff have been appealing for a penalty for minutes, but nothing has been given.
The first half of extra time is now over. STATS SO FAR in the PSG v Arsenal UCL final. Possession: 76 per cent–24 per cent to PSG. Shots: 19–4 to PSG. Shots on target: 3–1 to PSG. Corners: 10–2 to PSG. Fouls: PSG 9, Arsenal 17. Still, Paris are dominating the key stats.
Second half of the Extra Time starts.
106th minute: Two more subs for PSG, Ilya Zabarnyi for Marquinhos, Lucas Beraldo for Vitinha.
107th minute: Zaïre-Emery wins an aerial duel against Hincapié, heading the ball into the middle of the Arsenal box, but Raya comes out and parries it away ahead of Ramos in a great shooting position.
117th minute: A cross was headed away by Gabriel in the six-yard area of Arsenal. The rebound was taken by Doué, whose shot bounces off the ground and then is collected by Raya.
117th minute: Yellow card for Mendes.
120th minute: Gyökeres takes a shot from the edge of the box, but it is deflected for a corner.
THE EXTRA TIME IS OVER. WE ARE HEADING INTO A PENALTY SHOOTOUT HERE IN BUDAPEST.
Ramos takes the first penalty for PSG and converts. So does Gyökeres for Arsenal, 1–1 after the first round of penalties.
Doué scores his PK for Paris, but Eze shoots it wide. 2–1 for PSG after round two.
Mendes’ penalty is saved by Raya. After Rice puts away his, it stands 2–2 after round three.
Hakimi doesn’t miss, and neither does Martinelli. 3–3 in the shootout.
Beraldo converts his pen for PSG. Gabriel shoots it high — it is over!
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN WIN 4–3 ON PENALTIES AFTER A 1–1 GAME AFTER EXTRA TIME. The French champions are the first team to defend their UCL title after Real Madrid in 2018. This was the first extra time and penalty shootout in a UCL final since 2016.
After scoring the winner for Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final, Kai Havertz scored in the final again, this time for Arsenal. Current Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé equalized from a penalty in the second half.
The game finished level after extra time, where PSG emerged victorious, claiming their second UCL title.
Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the PSG v Arsenal 2026 UEFA Champions League final at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
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