By Victoria Likidzo Arsenal and PSG will meet in the 2026 UEFA champions league final at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna on May 30 after securing semi-final wins over Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively, setting up a rare showpiece between two clubs without deep European heritage. Arsenal secured their spot on Tuesday, May 5, with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates, sealing a 2-1 aggregate victory. PSG followed a day later, drawing 1-1 in with Bayern Munich in Munich to clinch a 6-5 aggregate win after a 5-4 thriller in Paris. The French side’s Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring early, while Harry Kane’s stoppage-time goal for Bayern came too late to change the tie. Arsenal’s appearance marks only their second champions league final, following a 2-1 loss to Barcelona in 2006. PSG lifted the trophy for the first time last season with a 5-0 win over Inter Milan and are now attempting to become the first club since Real Madrid’s three consecutive wins from 2016 to 2018.
The final will be held at Puskás Aréna, an all seater stadium with a capacity of 67,215 that opened in 2019 and hosted the 2023 Europa league final between Sevilla and Roma. UEFA has moved kickoff to 18:00 CET or 17:00 WAT, three hours earlier than the traditional time, to expand the competition's global televised audience.
Victory would give Arsenal their first champions league title and make them only the second club to complete an unbeaten campaign in the competition after Manchester United in 2008. For PSG, a successful defense would see them join Real Madrid as the only club to win back-to-back titles in the champions league era. With both clubs chasing history and Budapest set as the neutral stage, the final promises a contest defined by who handles the moment.