Kai Havertz was handed a starting place for Arsenal on May 30, 2026, as Mikel Arteta named his side for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Martinelli, meanwhile, was among the substitutes as Arsenal went with a reshaped line-up for the club's biggest night in years.
Arteta made eight changes from the team that beat Crystal Palace 2-1 six days earlier, but the spine of the final side still carried familiar names. Gabriel and William Saliba returned in the centre of defence, David Raya started behind them, and Myles Lewis-Skelly moved into midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard on the wings.
The selection showed how carefully Arsenal have managed the run-in to a one-off final. Only Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly kept their places from the Palace win, while Ben White remained Arsenal's only injury casualty heading into the final. Jurrien Timber was back on the bench after missing the past couple of months with a groin issue, but the Dutch defender was still short of a full return to the starting XI.
That left Arteta with a bench that included Martinelli, Gyokeres and Jesus, while the starting line-up reflected the balance he judged best for facing PSG. On the other side, PSG made five changes from the side that last played a fortnight earlier, when they were beaten by Paris FC, and Ousmane Dembele was fit to start after going off with a calf injury in their previous match. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes were also available again after missing the 5-4 semi-final second-leg win over Bayern Munich a month earlier, with Desire Doue starting on the wing ahead of Bradley Barcola and Joao Neves returning while Lucas Beraldo dropped to the bench.
For Arsenal, the final now comes down to whether the side Arteta has trusted can turn a carefully selected XI into a first European crown. Timber's place on the bench suggests he has cleared the hardest part of the comeback, but not yet all of it; the next answer will come only if and when the game demands him.
