Unstoppable force meets immovable object: Key stats ahead of the Champions League final

[p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0UlZ6xuE1JPRe2FPOoA300?si=UxsyMOxqQyKcKrZ20Q3WFQ"][b]Listen to the audio version of this article on Spotify.[/b][/a][/p][p]It's the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Gunners[/a]' first appearance in 20 years, since losing to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] back in 2006, and just their second-ever final appearance.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]PSG[/a] are in their third final, but it comes exactly a year after their second (an epic 5-0 victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter[/a]) and only six years after their first (a 1-0 defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a]).[/p][h2]Arsenal buoyant after Premier League title win[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arteta-mikel/lAbHYaQM/"]Mikel Arteta[/a]'s side enjoyed an amazing run to the final and won all of their games in the league phase, en route to the showpiece.[/p][embed guid="e29f6811-5ebe-4c49-91af-23836cacdf25" url="https://x.com/Arsenal/status/2056833519460999375" social-type="twitter" /][p]Having landed the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years, too, the North Londoners are rightly buoyant ahead of the game.[/p][p]One of the issues that could hamper their efforts is their expenditure of energy, particularly over the latter stages of this season.[/p][p]It's been a long, hard campaign, and Saturday's match will be Arsenal's 63rd of the season. In fact, they've played more matches than any other team in the top five European leagues.[/p][h2]PSG have played seven fewer matches[/h2][p]PSG, on the other hand, have played only 56 matches, though if one wanted to factor in their participation at the Club World Cup last summer, it brings their number up to 62 games.[/p][image alt="PSG vs Arsenal - Recent head-to-head matches" id="33f1b7d9-bffd-4a5e-948b-291973d24dcc" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="5aa5f727-0283-4b59-86ba-e086ea7ac11d" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]However, where Luis Enrique has the edge is that he's been able to rotate his squad much more heavily in games, especially during the last few weeks.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dembele-ousmane/zsMC2Ec0/"]Ousmane Dembele[/a], for example, only started 11 of PSG's 34 games in Ligue 1 and played for 90 minutes in just one of those matches.[/p][h2]None of PSG's big names played even half of their league games[/h2][p]Many of his colleagues started just a handful more, and livewire [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kvaratskhelia-khvicha/bNuGt0hE/"]Khvicha Kvaratskhelia[/a] played only two full games in 28 league matches across the season.[/p][p]To give further perspective, none of PSG's big names played even half of their league games in the 25/26 campaign.[/p][embed guid="bb6c1909-982a-47ce-ab7c-54dac46a5705" url="https://x.com/PSG_English/status/2059023780786188509" social-type="twitter" /][p]Captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marquinhos/UFfev8HP/"]Marquinhos[/a] has played more cumulative minutes in the Champions League than in Ligue 1, even though in match terms, he's made 18 fewer appearances in the European competition.[/p][p]Though PSG didn't waltz to their fifth league title in a row either, it was certainly a lot easier to achieve than Arsenal's Premier League crown.[/p][h2]Arsenal have nine players with 3000+ minutes[/h2][p]By contrast to the French giants' big names, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zubimendi-martin/fNI6Gsdr/"]Martin Zubimendi[/a] played in every single league match in 25/26, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rice-declan/zkQ8Cm6n/"]Declan Rice[/a] played all but two of them.[/p][p]Indeed, of those players from both sides to play 3,000+ minutes, nine of the 12 that have done so play for Arsenal. Not that Arteta will be looking for excuses, of course.[/p][embed guid="3775a569-d1f5-42ea-aeab-e7e0bb08b22c" url="https://x.com/Arsenal/status/2060043611648229780" social-type="twitter" /][p]He won't be able to call upon [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/white-ben/pvGdJANj/"]Ben White[/a] for the final, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/timber-jurrien/hSaoLOM4/"]Jurrien Timber[/a] is only rated at 25% fitness.[/p][p]The Spaniard may get some good news regarding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/madueke-chukwunonso/Ac57P9Pt/"]Noni Madueke[/a], however, as the winger is 50/50 to play some part in what would be the most important game of his career.[/p][p]For PSG, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hakimi-achraf/MqFBkBsp/"]Achraf Hakimi[/a] will be touch-and-go, and Luis Enrique may well leave it until the last possible moment to decide whether to play him or not. Dembele, despite picking up a recent knock, has declared himself fit.[/p][h2]Kvaratskhelia the major threat[/h2][p]In the last six matches in all competitions, the North Londoners have won five and drawn one, whilst PSG have won three, drawn two and lost one.[/p][p]Kvaratskhelia has been the latter's main threat in the Champions League with 10 goals, and he also has the joint most assists for his side (six). He's taken the most shots (49), has had the most shots on target (18), and with three yellow cards, has the joint-most in the team.[/p][embed guid="702268c5-0e3c-4bfc-bcdf-a0c806ccf14c" url="https://x.com/PSG_English/status/2060014630248788028" social-type="twitter" /][p]In terms of creativity, however, PSG will look to the metronomic Vitinha to set the tempo. His 1,553 passes in this season's competition are more than double Arsenal's most impressive performer in this regard, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saliba-william/EgIM3sB7/"]William Saliba[/a] (678).[/p][p]The Gunners have relied on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martinelli/dITe5M88/"]Gabriel Martinelli[/a] (six goals) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Viktor Gyokeres[/a] (five) to help get them to this stage of the competition, with Declan Rice creating 24 chances in their European games to date.[/p][p]In [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/havertz-kai/rH8BZWiI/"]Kai Havertz[/a], too, they have a player who has already scored a winner in a UCL final, doing so for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a] back in 2021.[/p][h2]PSG ranked as No. 1 in several metrics[/h2][p]During the last six meetings between the two sides, PSG have won two, Arsenal have won two, and the two other games have been drawn.[/p][embed guid="bdf5c6d8-042e-4a2f-b52c-b3bcdd5190ab" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2059919023073026150" social-type="twitter" /][p]For a team that is known for its attacking and passing game, the North Londoners are way behind their opponents in various metrics, which hint at how tough a time the Gunners are likely to have in the Puskas Arena.[/p][p]PSG are ranked No.1 for goals scored (44), total shots (298), shots on target (114), and passes (9,809). They're also second for pass completion (89%).[/p][image alt="PSG vs Arsenal - Live win probability" id="b59f14b3-46b9-458a-a333-425703c45b73" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="1ce356bd-7cda-4051-a257-1d1f4c876fdc" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Using the same metrics, Arsenal are ranked sixth for goals (29), total shots (209) and shots on target (86), seventh for passes (6,358), and 13th for pass completion (86%).[/p][p]However, it's in defence where the Gunners have excelled, and are placed 36th in the rankings for goals conceded (six). PSG rank fifth after letting in 22 in this season's competition.[/p][p][b]Could Saturday's final, therefore, be a case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object?[/b][/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="db6b85d6-1d72-4000-8b3f-a5b17c2f626a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="90989a14-946f-40bf-af1c-34e00f6a90c7" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-hA1Zm19f/psg-CjhkPw0k/?mid=EJZRaQ15"]Follow the Champions League final with Flashscore![/a][/h2]