Arsenal XI vs. PSG: Arteta Makes Huge Timber Call—Injury News, Predicted Lineup
After ending their 22-year wait to reclaim the Premier League title, Arsenal are targeting a maiden European conquest in Budapest this weekend.
Still riding the wave of their domestic triumph, the Gunners are back on Europe’s grandest stage for the first time since 2006. They’d been indifferent for so long in the Champions League, but Mikel Arteta has helped his robust unit garner the respect of the continent over the past few years.
Linear progression leaves them 90 minutes away from glory, but holders Paris Saint-Germain stand in their way. Crucially, Arsenal are as healthy as they have been all season for Saturday’s mammoth affair.
Jurriën Timber In Contention for Gunners
Timber has travelled to Budapest. / Tullio Puglia/UEFA/Getty Images
Mikel Arteta has a huge call to make at right back for the final. Arsenal are without Ben White due to a knee injury, and Jurriën Timber has been sidelined for more than two months. Converted center back Cristhian Mosquera has offered mitigation, but Timber has a chance of starting the final.
The Dutchman has trained as normal in the week leading up to the game, and has traveled with the rest of the squad to Budapest. Arteta may have been preparing Timber for a start against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with no risks taken down the domestic stretch.
Noni Madueke suffered an injury scare on the final day of the season at Selhurst Park, with a hamstring complaint forced him off in the second half. However, the winger’s setback will not keep him out of the final. While Madueke almost certainly won’t start, he’ll be a useful option off the bench for Arteta.
- ⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Jurriën Timber, Noni Madueke, Ben White
- 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. PSG (4-2-3-1)
Arsenal should have their starting right back available. / FotMob
GK: David Raya —It’ll take some doing, but Raya is nonetheless chasing history on Saturday. The Spaniard has notched nine clean sheets in the competition this season, and no goalkeeper has ever recorded 10.
RB: Jurriën Timber —It’s a risk, given who he’ll be up against, but Arteta may deem this a gamble worth taking. Timber, even if slightly rusty, gives Arsenal the best chance of slowing Kvaratskhelia down.
CB: William Saliba —The unflappable Saliba will simply need to produce his very best to ensure Arsenal aren’t blown away by PSG’s attacking might on Saturday. He knows a couple of their shiniest stars intimately.
CB: Gabriel —It’s been a while since Gabriel leapt the highest and headed Arsenal into the lead from a set piece. Perhaps he’s been saving his final act of 2025–26 for the big one.
LB: Riccardo Calafiori —It’s not just PSG who’ll be rotating heavily in possession in a bid to flummox the opposition. Arsenal do it, too, and Calafiori is often gifted the license to roam and disorientate.
CM: Declan Rice —There’s genuine scope for Rice to emerge in the Ballon d’Or race over the next few weeks. Can he repeat Rodri’s heroics for Manchester City in Istanbul from three years ago?
CM: Myles Lewis-Skelly —Lewis-Skelly’s late-season resurgence wasn’t enough to make England’s World Cup squad, but playing in the Champions League final is decent compensation.
RW: Bukayo Saka —Saka’s looked sharp since recovering from an Achilles injury, and he loves playing against French opposition. In his career, the winger has eight goal contributions in six games against Ligue 1 teams. He’s the only Arsenal attacker who strikes fear into the Parisians.
AM: Martin Ødegaard —Eberechi Eze’s “magic moments” could prove important, but Arteta will trust his captain in Budapest. He can rely on Ødegaard out of possession, and Arsenal’s pressing is bound to play a major role on Saturday.
LW: Leandro Trossard —Trossard has delivered a couple of key moments towards the end of the season, and there‘s no doubt that he’ll be trusted with a starting berth down the left. Achraf Hakimi will surrender space for the Belgian to attack.
ST: Kai Havertz —Viktor Gyökeres was brilliant in the semifinal win over Atlético Madrid, and Havertz hasn’t particularly set the world alight down the stretch. However, the Arsenal boss almost certainly trusts the German more. Havertz, of course, scored the only goal of the 2021 Champions League final.
