Lee Kang-in Left on the Bench as PSG and Arsenal Reveal Champions League Final Lineups: First-Ever Big Ear Trophy vs. a Chance at Back-to-Back Titles
Lee Kang-in will start on the bench as Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal prepare for the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League final at Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary, with kickoff set for 1 a.m. Korea time on May 31. PSG named an attacking front line of Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while the midfield includes João Neves, Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz. The back line features Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho, Marquinhos and Achraf Hakimi, with Matvey Safonov in goal. Arsenal will begin with Kai Havertz as the lone striker, supported by Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Leandro Trossard, while Miles Lewis-Skelly and Declan Rice form the midfield pair and Piero Incaupi, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba and Cristian Mosquera make up the defense in front of goalkeeper David Raya.
The final brings together two teams with very different motivations. PSG, the defending champion, is chasing back-to-back Champions League titles, something no French club has ever achieved. The Paris side reached the final after defeating Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich in sequence. PSG has scored 44 goals in the competition this season and is aiming to extend a run of scoring in 27 straight matches.
Manager Luis Enrique could also make history. If PSG wins, he would become only the fifth coach ever to lift the Champions League trophy at least three times, joining Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Bob Paisley and Zinedine Zidane.
Arsenal, meanwhile, is seeking its first Champions League title and its first major European crown in decades. The club was famously defeated by Barcelona in the 2006 final in Paris after a dramatic comeback. Now Arsenal has another chance to win the trophy and complete a rare league-and-Champions League double.
Already crowned English Premier League champions, Arsenal would become only the fourth English club to win both the domestic league and the Champions League, following Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City. The London club enters the final hoping to end a long wait for European success and add the biggest prize in club football to its season.
