Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in the Champions League final for the fourth time in two seasons, with their previous encounter drawing heavy criticism.
Arsenal lost to Paris Saint-Germain last season (Image: Lars Baron – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s passage to the Champions League final coincided with a beneficial rule change by UEFA. The adjustments were made after the Gunners were left dissatisfied after their last encounter with Paris Saint-Germain.
UEFA’s new Champions League table format will begin in the 2024-25 season, with Arsenal one of eight teams to qualify directly for the last 16. The Gunners also had home advantage in the second leg of their Round of 16 match against PSV Eindhoven. However, that was not the case for the remaining knockouts and Arsenal were left frustrated.
Their frustration was compounded when they met in the semi-finals last year, with PSG, who were 12th below Arsenal and needed to make the play-offs, drawn as the home team for the second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side also missed out on a second leg at home when they beat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, despite finishing ahead of them in the league.
Arsenal came to Paris looking to overturn a 0-0 defeat at home, but lost 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals in a hard-fought battle. However, this season there was a change.
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UEFA has extended the overall seeding limit for the knockout competitions. Finishing this season at the top of the table meant Arsenal had home advantage in all three of their second legs.
That was especially helpful in the last 16 and semi-final stages. First, the Gunners were only able to draw 1-1 away to Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their round of 16, but they put their home advantage to good use in the second leg, winning 2-0 that night.
And in the semi-finals, Arsenal drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital. When they met again in London, the Gunners won 1-0 and booked a ticket to Budapest.
Who will win the Champions League final, Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal? Let us know your prediction in the comments section.
Paris Saint-Germain would not have been the home team under UEFA’s current rules (Image: David Ramos/Getty Images)
PSG fans will note that this season, all three knockout ties beyond the play-off stage had second legs away, resulting in them finishing 11th in the table. Things seem to be fine for the French giants, as they defeated Chelsea and Liverpool in their own backyard, then drew only 1-1 with Germany’s Bayern Munich to qualify for the final.
However, there is still debate about how seeding works. When a team beats a team that finished higher than them in the standings, they “steal” their opponent’s spot. For example, Atlético defeated Tottenham in the previous round and earned a home second leg in this season’s quarter-final against Barcelona, as Spurs finished one place above Barça.
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