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French football expert and ESPN journalist Julien Laurens has told FourFourTwo why the Champions League final will be closer than a lot of people think.
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Holders Paris Saint-Germain won last year's showpiece 5-0 in Munich to pick up their first trophy, with newly crowned Premier League champions Arsenal standing in their way in Saturday's final.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Laurens said that he believes Mikel Arteta has been given a blueprint of how to beat the Parisiens by a match played earlier on in the competition, and the match in Budapest will be an intriguing battle where possession will be key.
“Everybody saying Arsenal or PSG are huge favourites is wrong,” says Julien Laurens
“I think they are the two best teams in Europe right now: Bayern Munich could have been there, but Arsenal beat Bayern, and PSG knocked them out,” Laurens says. “For me, this is the toughest opponent possible in the final for PSG.
“You look at Bayern, or before that, Liverpool and Chelsea: those teams are attacking sides, right? They play open. They're very good at attacking, so they will put you under pressure, but you also know that there will be space for you, and you can play your game if you're PSG, especially at home.
“Over one game, Arsenal will be far closer to what Monaco did to PSG when Monaco played PSG in the playoffs, which are the two most difficult matches that PSG have had in the Champions League this season in the knockout stages.
“Arsenal are like Monaco – and Monaco are not as good as Arsenal – but in what they do, there are similarities in terms of controlling the tempo of the game, being very aggressive, very much on you, and very physical, but within a defensive structure mindset. Bayern are a physical attacking side, whereas Arsenal are a physical, controlling, defensive structure team, and that's difficult to play against, even with Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Neves, or Vitinha.
I'm wondering if Luis Enrique sees this and thinks, ‘You know what, Arsenal would rather not have the ball against us than have the ball, for sure.’ Despite what Mikel Arteta might say about wanting to control the ball, I don't think that's true, not against a team like PSG. So why don't PSG leave them the ball a bit more?”
With PSG huge favourites heading into the final, Laurens says that he thinks that the game will be closer than many expect – and that the Gunners' recent Premier League triumph has lifted some of the pressure from Arteta's side.
“I think it's going to be fascinating and much tighter than a lot of people say: everybody saying Arsenal or PSG are huge favourites is wrong,” he says. “I also think that Arsenal winning the Premier League title takes a massive weight off their shoulders, and that will give them an advantage in the final.
“I'm not saying the final is a bonus, but at the start of this season, the main objective for Arsenal was to win the Premier League. If they win the Champions League and do this incredible Double, it will be amazing, and they have a chance. It's 50/50, maybe 55/45 for PSG because they're the holders.
“I also think that playing in that final last year is a massive psychological advantage for PSG. There are a lot of boys in the Arsenal team who have never played in a final like this before – Saka played in the Euros final, but in terms of the Champions League, apart from Kai Havertz, this is it.
“That's an advantage for PSG, but I think it's a good thing for Arsenal that they've already won the league before the last game of the season.”
