Arsene Wenger Backs Arsenal to Win Champions League Final Against PSG, Says Trophy Is ‘Missing’ at Emirates

Arsene Wenger, who managed Arsenal for 22 years, has publicly backed his former club to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final scheduled for Saturday in Budapest — a match that comes on the back of Arsenal’s Premier League title victory this season.

Speaking to UEFA, the legendary Frenchman was unambiguous about where he wants the trophy to end up. “I want this trophy to go to the Emirates because it’s missing there,” Wenger said. “We touched it before — we were thirteen minutes away from winning it — so you want it to happen this time.”

Wenger’s reference to being thirteen minutes away is rooted in one of European football’s most painful near-misses. In the 2006 UEFA Champions League final, his Arsenal side faced Barcelona with ten men after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off early in the match. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Arsenal took the lead through a Sol Campbell header and held it deep into the second half. However, substitute Henrik Larsson turned the game, setting up goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti to hand Barcelona the trophy in what remains one of the competition’s more dramatic finales.

Two decades on, Wenger believes the current squad — under the management of Mikel Arteta — has built the foundations necessary to go one step further. “I’ve always said that you work in a club to make sure it’s in a good position to continue to progress,” he told UEFA. “Overall, I believe this is a stage where we can grab it.”

Despite the sentimental pull toward his former club, Wenger acknowledged the difficulty of the fixture. “I still believe it’s fifty-fifty in the final,” he said, before adding: “and if I had to bet, I would bet on Arsenal more than on Paris Saint-Germain.”

The former manager also framed Arsenal’s potential victory in the context of the club’s broader European journey. “When I arrived at Arsenal, the club had very little Champions League history. Then we had 20 consecutive years of qualification, and now the crown of that history would be to become champions,” he explained.

Wenger went further in articulating why he feels this particular moment is significant. “I feel the club deserves it, this season deserves it and the consistency of the team deserves it,” he said. “I think Arsenal have slowly built a history that now allows them to win it. I also feel the time has come for Arsenal to dominate the Premier League consistently.”

Arsenal’s appearance in the Champions League final represents a significant milestone for a club that, despite sustained domestic competitiveness over many years, has never lifted the European Cup. PSG, meanwhile, are also seeking their first Champions League title, having reached but lost previous finals, most notably against Bayern Munich in 2020. The Budapest showdown therefore carries historic weight for both clubs.

Wenger is not the only former Arsenal figure to weigh in ahead of the final. Nigerian legend Nwankwo Kanu has also backed the Gunners, citing the squad’s “winning mentality” as a key factor, according to reports. The match takes place on Saturday, with kickoff expected to draw a global audience.