Arsenal will try to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time on Saturday 30 May, with Mikel Arteta leading them into a final against Paris Saint-Germain that could put the club into a very small group of Premier League-era winners. Only Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City have lifted the trophy in that period, and Arsenal now have one match to break into the list.
For readers searching for champions league stats, that company is the point. Arsenal have won their first Premier League title in 22 years before this final, but Europe has still stayed out of reach, with their only previous Champions League final ending in defeat to Barcelona in 2006. The contrast is sharp: a team that has finally found domestic consistency is now trying to end decades of waiting on the continent.
The Premier League-era winners underline how hard the task is. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United came from behind against Bayern Munich in the 1999 final, with Mario Basler scoring in the sixth minute before Teddy Sheringham equalised in the first minute of stoppage time and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck in the third. Liverpool’s 2005 comeback against AC Milan was even more dramatic, after falling 3-0 behind at half-time when Paolo Maldini scored in the first minute and Hernan Crespo added two more before the break, before Steven Gerrard inspired a fightback and Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso levelled the score in a six-minute spell.
Chelsea and Manchester United then met in the first Champions League final between two Premier League sides in 2008, when Cristiano Ronaldo put United ahead early, Frank Lampard equalised before half-time and Edwin van der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka’s penalty in sudden death after John Terry had his own chance to win it. Chelsea went on to reach and win the final again in 2012 under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, when Thomas Muller’s 83rd-minute header appeared to have decided the contest for Bayern Munich before Didier Drogba headed in Juan Mata’s corner with two minutes remaining and Mata later missed the first kick of the shootout.
That history is why Arsenal’s assignment matters beyond one night in May. They are not just chasing a trophy; they are trying to become the fifth Premier League club to win Europe’s top competition in the league era, and the gap between reaching the final and joining that four-team group has beaten better-prepared sides before. PSG will decide whether Arteta’s team finish with a first Champions League title or remain part of the competition’s long list of almosts.
