The path of least resistance: how Arsenal reached the 2026 Champions League final

Arsenal are just three games away from having the most successful season in their 140-year history. Not only is Premier League glory on the horizon for the first time in 22 years, but Mikel Arteta’s team are also one game away from their maiden Champions League title.

The Gunners will take on holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 31, hoping to go one better than their last appearance in 2006, when they were defeated 2-1 by Barcelona in Paris.

Despite having goalkeeper Jens Lehmann sent off after just 18 minutes, Arsenal took the lead before halftime through Sol Campbell. However, quick-fire goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti in the game’s final quarter turned the match in Barça’s favor.

PSG arrive in ominous form

The Premier League leaders head into this year’s final as underdogs against PSG, who appear to have peaked at exactly the right time after a sluggish start to the season. Luis Enrique’s team have already thrashed two English sides in the knockout phase, defeating Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 before winning 4-0 against Liverpool in the quarterfinals.

The French champions then edged an all-time Champions League classic against Bayern Munich, winning 5-4 on aggregate in the semifinals.

It’s probably not too controversial to suggest Arsenal’s route to the final has been less grueling. Although the Gunners will insist they earned it by virtue of having the best record in the league phase, in which they were the only team to win all eight games.

Arsenal’s route under scrutiny

While PSG only just scraped past fellow Ligue 1 club Monaco in the knockout phase playoff, Arsenal skipped that round entirely after finishing in the top eight of the league phase.

Arteta’s men were then drawn on what was widely viewed as the easier side of the bracket, with their potential route to the final avoiding PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

Instead, they were drawn against Bayer Leverkusen, only the sixth-best team in Germany’s Bundesliga this season and a side that had already played two extra games in the playoffs. Arsenal needed a late Kai Havertz penalty to secure a 1-1 draw on the road before running out comfortable 2-0 winners at the Emirates.

They then learned they would face either Sporting CP or Bodø/Glimt in the quarterfinals, hardly Europe’s traditional heavyweights, and it turned out to be the Portuguese side. Havertz again struck late in the first leg, this time clinching a 1-0 win, and Arsenal progressed after a tense 0-0 draw in London.

One final obstacle remains

The Gunners could then have faced LaLiga champions Barcelona in the semifinals, but instead drew Atlético Madrid, fourth in Spain’s top flight, after Diego Simeone’s side stunned the Catalans.

Another closely fought tie, another narrow Arsenal win after a draw in Spain.

If Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP and Atlético Madrid does not sound like the most daunting route to a Champions League final, most expect PSG to make up for it in Budapest on May 31.

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