Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday in their first Champions League final for twenty years, and Mikel Arteta arrives at the fixture with a settled core but genuine uncertainty across roughly half his starting eleven. The Premier League title was secured ten days ago, and the Gunners were able to rest key players in the final league fixture at Crystal Palace, which means the squad is in good shape physically — with one significant exception.
The five players who appear certain to start are David Raya in goal, William Saliba and Gabriel in central defence, Declan Rice in midfield, and Bukayo Saka on the right. Every other position carries a degree of doubt, and each decision Arteta makes appears to pull in at least two directions at once.
The most debated question is who leads the attack. Viktor Gyokeres is Arsenal's top scorer across all competitions this season with 21 goals, and his pressing and channel running were central to victories over Fulham and Atlético Madrid in the weeks before the final. Yet Kai Havertz has built a compelling case to start in the biggest matches. He was preferred at Manchester City in April, and the statistics favour his inclusion if the priority is possession and chance creation — Arsenal have more of the ball and generate more attempts with Havertz as the focal point. The German also carries the specific experience of scoring in a Champions League final, having done so for Chelsea in 2021. The trade-off is familiar: Havertz connects the frontline more fluidly but can be less ruthless in front of goal; Gyokeres offers a more direct threat but a less combinative game. Arteta has navigated that tension all season without fully resolving it.
At left wing, Leandro Trossard has emerged as the frontrunner after Gabriel Martinelli's form dipped. Martinelli scored in six of his first seven European fixtures this season but has not found the net in the competition since late January. The front three of Trossard, Gyokeres and Saka won twelve of thirteen Premier League matches in which all three started, and that combination also combined directly for the decisive goal in the semi-final second leg against Atlético. Eberechi Eze remains an option on that flank — he started there at City — but the Belgian is ahead of him in Arteta's thinking. Whether Eze features at all may depend on whether Arteta views him as a credible alternative at number ten, though Martin Odegaard, the club's captain, has reasserted himself since returning from injury and seems likely to start there. His contribution to wins at Newcastle and West Ham at either end of the season underlines his value both as a creative force and a high-press organiser.
The most pressing concern in terms of fitness is Jurrien Timber, who has not featured since March after a groin problem that initially appeared minor. He remains a doubt for Saturday, and his absence would leave Arteta without his first-choice right-back for the most important fixture in a generation. Cristhian Mosquera, who has operated there from his natural centre-back position with some success, is the most likely alternative. The task facing whichever player takes that role will be considerable: PSG's left side, where Khvicha Kvaratskhelia operates, has been among the most dangerous attacking combinations in European football over the past two seasons. In midfield, a question surrounds Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has impressed since being recalled to the eleven following Martin Zubimendi's brief drop to the bench. The balance of opinion leans toward Arteta selecting the midfield three that has accumulated the most time together — Rice, Zubimendi and Odegaard — given the quality PSG carry through the centre of the pitch in Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz. Arteta is expected to confirm his selection at his pre-match press conference, though he has given little away in public.