Arteta's Arsenal Ready for Champions League Final Against PSG

Mikel Arteta will walk into Saturday’s Champions League final with a problem he thought he’d lost – and one he’s delighted to have back.

Jurrien Timber, missing since March with a groin injury, has been cleared to start against Paris St-Germain in Budapest. For weeks, right-back had looked like the one crack in Arsenal’s armour. Now, on the eve of the biggest game of their season, the Dutchman is suddenly back in the frame.

Timber has not played for the Gunners since limping out of the win over Everton, an absence that forced Arteta into a patchwork solution on the flank. Ben White’s knee ligament injury removed the obvious replacement and turned a routine selection into a tactical headache.

Cristhian Mosquera has been dragged from the centre of defence to plug the gap. At times, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice have been pushed out of their natural midfield roles to cover the right side. It worked, mostly. But everyone around the club knew it wasn’t sustainable against the reigning European champions.

Now Timber has been photographed back in full training in Budapest, moving freely, fully involved as Arsenal sharpen their plans for Luis Enrique’s PSG. Arteta’s message is clear: the defender is not just back in the squad. He is fit enough to start.

The good news did not stop there. Noni Madueke, who hobbled off with a hamstring issue against Crystal Palace last weekend, is also available. A scare, nothing more. For a manager juggling fine details on the brink of a final, having both Timber and Madueke back changes the mood, and the options, overnight.

What it does not change is Arteta’s stance on what this match means. Arsenal have already ended a 22-year wait for a Premier League title. Many teams would treat a Champions League final as a bonus after that. Arteta wants no part of that narrative.

“No, the ambition is bigger, we have one [trophy] and we want the second one,” he said. The message inside the camp has been relentless: one trophy is a platform, not a destination.

“There has to be a platform to reach bigger destinations and to aim for more,” he added, underlining that this group is being built – and judged – for nights exactly like this. The belief, he insists, comes from what Arsenal have already done in this competition over the last few seasons and particularly this year.

“I want the players to be so confident that we are going to go and do it.” That is the tone, not of a side just happy to be there, but of one determined to rip the crown from the holders.

PSG arrive as favourites, and with good reason. They knocked Arsenal out in last season’s semi-finals and now stand on the brink of history, chasing the chance to become only the second team to defend the title in the Champions League era.

They know this stage. They know this pressure. They know how to win here.

Arteta knows exactly what his team are up against. “They are defending the trophy and they are the champions and we are here to take that away from them,” he said.

The holders against the newly crowned champions of England. A patched-up right flank that suddenly has its specialist back. A manager who refuses to treat this as a free hit.

Arsenal have their platform. In Budapest, they find out if it’s high enough to reach the top of Europe.