Word Jab at Arsenal Ahead of Champions League Final

Harry Kane has given Tottenham Hotspur something to smile about by backing Paris Saint-Germain to beat Arsenal in the Champions League final at the end of this month.

Kane was nine years old when he was released by the Gunners for being “a bit chubby” but went on to join Spurs aged 11 and has become one of the greatest players of his generation.

The England national team captain left Spurs for Bayern Munich in 2023 in pursuit of trophies and fell just short of reaching this season’s Champions League final. Bayern lost 6–4 to PSG over two legs, and Kane is now expecting the French team to lift the cup.

“In my opinion, PSG are slightly favorites in the final,” he told German media.

While PSG are defending European champions, Arsenal are in the final for the first time in 20 years and have never laid hands on the most famous of all of club soccer’s trophies.

The narrative around the match in Budapest’s Puskás Arena on May 30 is offense vs. defense.

PSG have scored 44 times in the Champions League so far in 2025–26, including five each in individual knockout matches against Chelsea and Bayern. Last season, their high-powered offense ran up a record-breaking margin of victory (5–0) in the final against Inter.

Arsenal’s greatest strength lies at the other end of the pitch. The Gunners are unbeaten through 14 matches in Europe this season—the only team to emerge from the league phase unscathed—and have conceded just six times in the competition.

History at Stake for Arsenal

Arsenal could finish this season with a Premier League-Champions League double, ending a 22-year domestic drought in the process. They could also finish it with nothing, or anything in between.

The Premier League title, which Arsenal last won in 2003–04, appears mostly in hand. That comes after Manchester City dropped points unexpectedly in Monday’s draw with Everton.

The Gunners have a five-point advantage, which City can only now cut to two with their game in hand that will be played during the final midweek of the season. Plenty can still change, but Arsenal have their destiny in their own hands and winning the final three matches against West Ham United, Burnley and Crystal Palace would secure the title regardless of whatever else happens.

Winning the Champions League would also be huge for the club, having been legitimately one of the best teams in Europe in the early years of the 21st century but never getting over the line. After sinking away from that elite bracket, Arsenal have rebuilt and returned.

Completing the double would be no mean feat. Of England’s Champions League winners during the Premier League era, only Manchester United (1998–99, 2007–08) and Manchester City (2022–23) have been crowned European champions in the same year they’ve won the domestic title.

None of the rest—Liverpool (2004–05,2018–19) or Chelsea (2011–12, 2020–21)—have managed to win the Premier League during their triumphant European season.

How England’s Champions League Winners Finished in the Premier League

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