Kick-off in Budapest is under two hours away. Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal are about to contest the biggest match of the season, and Rob Smyth has ‘got it launched’ over on the live blog page. So time for us to close this down … thanks for reading, and thanks for all the emails. Enjoy the match!
“I was in the North Bank at the Arsenal v PSG match in ‘94 and there’s two things that still stick in my mind,” emails Matt. “First, the unarmed combat between Lee Dixon and David Ginola, foreshadowing Ginola’s time at Spurs. Second, Raí put in one of the best performances I have ever seen in the flesh by an opposition player. What a player he was.”
My take on Slot’s sacking? If Liverpool get Andoni Iraola, which seems likely, then it’s the right decision. Harsh on Slot, yes, but that doesn’t make it the wrong thing to do.
Updated
Groups of fans got physical late Friday in Budapest’s frequented party area, leading police to launch an investigation over disorderly conduct.
Videos on social media showed several dozen people throwing punches and kicks, driving another group down Király street in the capital’s District 7.
One fan held a burning red flare before throwing it toward the other group, which was retreating down the street. Budapest police said in a statement that the violence erupted shortly after midnight, and that it was using surveillance footage to try to identify participants. (AP)
Here’s a mega-dump of Champions League final, Arsenal, and Paris-Saint Germain content from the past few days. Get stuck in and get excited for even more excited the big game, which is a little over two hours away:
Updated
Scotland lead Curaçao 3-1 at Hampden Park, Lawrence Shankland with two. Join Scott Murray:
You never forget your first World Cup, and the tournament’s return to American shores this year will stir vivid memories for anyone who attended USA 94. It was a curious and distinctive tournament, one that heralded the World Cup’s more expansive, commercialised future, while also seeming a world away from the jamboree that returns 32 years later, twice as big and at least twice as lucrative.
I managed to do two weeks of it as a skint 23-year-old earning £9,000 a year, alongside my mate Paddy, a student. We took in only two games – both goalless draws – but soaked up enough of the occasionally raucous, often tepid, atmosphere for it to remain a personal favourite World Cup all these years on.
Next up, a cracking read by Tom Davies, on his time as a fan at the 1994 World Cup in the US.
Tonight: Could see something akin to last month’s Champions League classic, when PSG edged Bayern 5-4 in the first leg of the semi-final?
Let’s be honest, it’s unlikely, given the way Arsenal ground their way to glory in the Premier League.
Updated
“If Arsenal win the Champions League final later today, expect euphoria across Africa. Judging by the scenes after last week’s Premier League title win – their first in 22 years – the celebrations will be immense. Boisterous fans flooded city centres in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Kampala and Lagos. In Nigeria’s Zamfara state, people celebrated in the streets despite rising insecurity as a result of Boko Haram’s terrorism.
“For outsiders, the obvious question is: how did a club from north London become so deeply woven into African popular culture?”
Brad Friedel, who played for Liverpool 1997-2000, is speaking on Sky Sports News.
“The transfer window last summer was difficult for Arne Slot, with Trent going and lots of others coming in,” says Friedel. “There was a lot of discontent. The Isak transfer was a disaster for both Liverpool and Newcastle. I was hoping they’d keep Slot and let him build … but I’m a little bit sad today, I’ll be honest … I’m just not a big believer in swapping and changing all the time. He should have had a bit more time.”
“Salah is one of Liverpool’s greats. He took his opportunity to get his comments out. I think he tilted some of the fans, who were in the middle, against Slot. And they let the club know. It was almost a little parting shot. I think some of the fans went against Slot and with Salah.”
Updated
Since Arsenal’s euphoric Premier League win last week, it has been a never-ending party in much of north London (apart from in Tottenham, although they had their own cause for celebration). And with Arsenal poised to play in the Uefa Champions League final on Saturday, Gooner fever is about to spread to the continent. So it was not surprising that in Stansted’s departure lounge, about 30 miles north-east of central London, the team’s iconic red-and-white shirts were an unmissable sight on Friday morning.
Most Gunners – or Gooners, as they are colloquially known – were preparing to embark on (mostly indirect) journeys to Budapest, where Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain. “We’ll get there by train, plane and automobiles,” said Darren Cornish. The 53-year-old IT manager from Hemel Hampstead was not exaggerating. Arsenal fans the Guardian spoke to plan on trekking to the Hungarian capital via overnight buses and trains from surrounding countries after flights to Budapest spiked following their Premier League victory.
“Oh no,” emails Billy, apparently a Liverpool fan. “In anticipation of next season, I had just gotten an enormous tattoo of Arne Slot’s head in front of a ship’s wheel. Disaster.”
“Funny,” emails Niall Mullen. “My first question in 20 questions is always: Did this person score their only goal for Arsenal in a 7-0 win against Standard Liege?”
Budapest is packed with replica shirts of both clubs; the sense of anticipation palpable. Outside the Paris Saint-Germain team hotel – the Anantara – there has been a constant throng of fans, camera-phones held high, hoping to catch a glimpse of somebody. And ideally not the mean-looking security personnel. From an Arsenal perspective, having been around a lot of their fans, especially on the flight over from Gatwick, the vibe is genuinely relaxed. I’m not saying it is a free hit for their team but the Premier League title success has changed everything. Imagine if they had fallen short in that competition. This showpiece might have felt like a walk to the gallows. As is it, there is the feeling, as one supporter put it, that this final can simply “add the cherry on top” to a season of memorable achievement.
Coming up next, an update from David Hytner, one of our people on the ground in Budapest.
“Flew out of Vienna this morning,” comments tedthetopcat. “Loads of Gooners landing, presumably for the train to Budapest (2:30 hours). But, there were four Swedish Gooners on my LHR flight, to watch the game in north London - dedicated & barmy.”
Dedicated & Barmy Army?
Updated
David Tindall is back from lunch. He’s not back on the blog, but he kindly sent me this stat:
“I worked out (using Transfermarkt) that had the season started in MD6, Liverpool would have finished ninth. They gained just 45 points from the final 33 matches, 30 fewer than Arsenal.”
Liverpool have sacked Arne Slot following the team’s troubled Premier League title defence and are likely to turn to Andoni Iraola to replace him.
Slot has been dismissed with immediate effect and, Liverpool say, with great reluctance after a review into a season that was overshadowed by the death of Diogo Jota and featured 19 defeats in all competitions.
Who remembers 1994, when “The Arsenal” won the Cup Winners’ Cup?
Paris Saint-Germain were seen off in the semi-final, before the final win against Parma. Here is Steven Pye on those heady days for Gunners fans:
Good to see Eddie McGoldrick front and centre. Someone once told me, if you’re ever playing that “20 questions” game in which you try establish a mystery person’s identity, no one ever gets the answer if you choose Eddie McGoldrick. Words to live by.
Updated
“Retaining it is source of inspiration for us,” says Luis Enrique.
But remember, Luis, you never retain a trophy. You give it back, and try to win it again.
It’s lucky there is no other football on today, so we can fully focus on Liverpool.
But wait! The Champions League final begins at 5pm UK time, which is about three and a half hours away.
Updated
“I’ve always found it incredible when people try to diminish Slot’s influence on the title win,” emails LKeet6.
“Yes, there was still an influence of Klopp; he coached and developed those players; but Slot was the one who managed the side that season. It was clear there was a change of tactics, and he was the one who had to train and motivate them for many months throughout the season.
“A bad or mediocre manager absolutely would not have managed “Klopp’s team” to a Premier League title. Slot is obviously a very good manager. I’m not “against” his sacking, but I feel there were many very difficult obstacles for him this season, and I probably would have given him another season.”
Updated
“Absolute disgrace,” comments maserati1. “A great, premiership-winning manager. This season’s team affected by the loss of Jota, injuries to key players, and Salah’s decline (and trouble-making). Liverpool join the likes of Forest, Spurs, Chelsea, and the rest of the ‘short-term’, ‘knee-jerk reaction’ brigade. The tradition of loyalty at Anfield is sullied by this ridiculous, short-sighted decision. Shame on you Fenway Group, Edwards and Hughes.”
Meanwhile maysha writes: “Slot took Liverpool to top of the league in his first season, to 5th in his second. None too shabby, by any measure. This sacking seems to me a poor decision, comparable to Tottenham’s sacking of Postecoglou after he steered them to a Europa League trophy. Liverpool were never going to have a wonderful season after the crisis of the death of Jota. As it happens they didn’t do too badly. It seems that Slot is being made into the fall guy for a tragic accident. I hope he gets a fat severance pay.”
I agree with that. Apart from the Postecoglou bit.
Updated
“Virgil Van Dijk has played 63 games for club and country this season,” says Neil Mellor. “That’s phenomenal. Had he got injured, I don’t think Liverpool would have qualified for the Champions League.”
Scott Murray has Scotland v Curaçao here, live!
David Fulton, the former Kent batsman, is anchoring Sky Sports News, guiding us through this seismic football story. He’s speaking to the former Liverpool player Neil Mellor.
“The mood had changed,” Mellor says. “One thing you can’t do is ignore the supporters … it’s a difficult decision, but one the club felt they needed.
“Slot had to come in and convince these top players – ‘I am the man who can deliver for Liverpool’ … he convinced those players, early on in the first season, that he was the man to take over. It was an incredible season but things changed, as they do in football.
“In the final game against Brentford, not one of the new [from last summer] signings started. I thought that was quite telling.
“The football wasn’t great to watch. Arsenal have won the league, and they haven’t been great to watch … maybe the style has changed in the Premier League.”
Updated
This was brilliant from Barney, too: on the authority and sense of reassurance brought by Klopp that Slot lacked, once things started going wrong.
“Slot has played the room poorly at times. Jürgen Klopp’s super‑strength was always his ability to take everyone on the same journey. A defeat still felt noble, an event where someone was in charge. Dad is here and he’s making a speech.”
Barney Ronay, meanwhile, wrote this in April from Parc des Princes:
“Slot was up on his touchline from the opening seconds, whirling his arms, seeing spaces, imagined disasters. Slot in his early months was shrewd, smooth, round, twinkly, like an effusive Belgian hotelier. These days he seems bloodshot and fretful, trussed into his slacks and bomber jacket, like a pub singer who had a hit in the 1980s.”
“It’s a shame for Slot, but you could tell from the body language between him and the players that he wasn’t in charge,” comments TavishMcTavish below-the-line.
“But he wasn’t in charge of recruitment, so others need to take accountability for those decisions.”
BlueApples, meanwhile, says: “I never thought John Henry would bow to a bunch of hacks and keyboard warriors. After a plagued season from start to finish Arne definitely deserved better than this.”
Updated
“Last season was weird; it felt like the least exciting league win ever,” emails Graeme. “I feel sorry for him as I don’t know how you can sack a guy who won you the league last season. But at the same time, he had lost the dressing room, the fans and the football was getting even more turgid by the game.”
Andrew also gets in touch: “If the team had done badly last season, would everybody have said it wasn’t his fault? No. So it must be to his credit that they won.”
Well … that depends. Klopp’s work cannot be ignored. Had the squad been a complete state, Slot would (or should) have been afforded time to rebuild, with a poor season or two probably expected.
This piece from last August by Jonathan Wilson is worth revisiting.
“There is a clear sense of Arne Slot taking full command, as Jürgen Klopp’s rejig of the forward line is swept away. Which itself must be thrilling to Liverpool fans: if he could win the league, have them play as they did last season, with somebody else’s players, what could he do with his own?”
Here’s Andy Hunter’s news story:
“Liverpool have sacked Arne Slot after an end-of-season review into the club’s disappointing title defence. The Dutch coach guided Liverpool to a record-equalling 20th league title only last season, his first at the helm since replacing Jürgen Klopp, but a difficult season that culminated in a fifth-placed finish has prompted his exit.”
Thanks David. Well, that is rather big news.
My mind immediately turns back to 2015, and a memorable line from Jürgen Klopp when he joined Liverpool: “When I left Dortmund, my last sentence was it is not so important what people think when you come in, it is more important what they think when you leave.”
Point being: Klopp was determined to leave things in a good state when he left Anfield, and given Slot oversaw a Premier League title win in his first season after taking over, it’s clear Klopp did exactly that.
To what extent can Slot take credit for winning that title last season? To be discussed. You can email me.
Liverpool sack Arne Slot
Massive breaking news just before I hand to Luke. Liverpool have sacked their manager Arne Slot.
Updated
Tick, tick, tick. We get ever closer to the 5pm kick-off. That’s my stint over. Now I’ll hand you over to Luke McLaughlin to ramp up the anticipation further.
Tonight’s venue is the Puskas Arena. The 67,000-seat stadium was opened in 2019 and built on the same site as the previous Ferenc Puskas Stadion - named after the Hungarian and Real Madrid icon who won three European Cups as a player.
Perhaps we see a goal this evening with a Puskas-style dragback.
Updated
Here’s Barney Ronay, our man on the ground in Budapest. Some Arsenal fans are not quite on the ground it turns out.
Budapest airport has run out of wheely steps “due to the volume of arrivals”. Planes full of Arsenal fans waiting to get off. This never happened under Emperor Franz Joseph.
Updated
I had a dream last night about being sat in a Tesco Superstore and watching a man ride through the shop on an Arabian horse. Nope, me neither. If you’re an Arsenal fan, your tossing and turning slumbers may have involved Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – and with good reason.
Kvaratskhelia has scored 10 goals and set up another six in 15 Champions League games this season. During that run, the Georgian became the first player to record a goal contribution in seven consecutive UCL knockout matches.
Here’s Ted Todorovic-Thomas in Tbilisi with a profile of the PSG star, a national hero and contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Champions League kick-off time reminder: it’s 5pm. That’s 5pm. Repeat… 5pm. Why not the 8pm that we might have expected? Fifa made the change to enhance the matchday experience for fans and to optimize logistics, such as public transport, in Budapest. A welcome show of common sense.
Charles antaki with a Brazil-based email:
“I’m sure I’m not the only fan of a certain age who gets routinely disappointed by the Brazil roster; since the heady days of the 1970s, there’s been precious little exotic mystery in the players’ names. Lately we’ve had Jo, Fred, Kevin: the best we can expect nowadays is Vinicius and Neymar. Decent names both, of course but far from Dida, Pele, Garrincha, Vava, Socrates, Zico, and the rest. Memory suggests that there was a midfielder called Vampiro, but I think I’ve made that up.”
Back to the World Cup and back to the last time the USA played host. Here’s the story of how our Tom Davies, then a “skint 23-year-old”, travelled out to the United States to soak it all in.
Luis Enrique is a remarkable man. And nothing says it more than the way he talks about his daughter, Xana Martínez, who tragically passed away at just nine years old in August 2019 following a five-month battle with bone cancer. This interview has always stuck with me. Just incredible.
“Can I consider myself lucky or unfortunate? I consider myself lucky. Very lucky. My daughter came to live with us for nine wonderful years. We have thousands of memories from her, videos, incredible things. She isn’t in the physical plane but she is in the spiritual plane. Because every day we talk about her, we laugh and remember. Because I think Xana still sees us and I want her to see how we choose to live through this.”
The head-to-head between Arsenal and PSG is perfectly balanced: two wins each and three draws. Here, Steven Pye looks back at the Gunners’ victory over PSG in the semi-finals of the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup.
“Arsenal would have to beat PSG to reach the final in Copenhagen. Managed by Artur Jorge – who had won the European Cup with Porto in 1987 – PSG were on their way to their second French title and were stocked with star players, including Valdo, Raí, David Ginola and future Ballon d’Or winner George Weah. They had beaten Real Madrid the quarter-finals and were unbeaten in 35 matches, but Graham thought his side would offer a fresh challenge in the first leg in Paris.”
Just under six hours to go until the Champions League final. Some scenes from Budapest.
Updated
And speaking of global reach… Sean Jacobs says the bond between Arsenal and ordinary Africans is on a different level. Why? Read this:
Everywhere you go these days, someone’s wearing Arsenal gear. That includes Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, during Eid al-Adha prayers in the Bronx.
Here’s Tom Garry’s second piece on the Women’s FA Cup final. Man City v Brighton kicks off tomorrow at 3pm.
WARNING! THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL KICKS OFF AT 5PM. That’s UK time. Do not go out for the day with plans to get back about 7.30pm for the footie. Another one of these messages later.
It’s the Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday. Here’s Tom Garry with the first of two pieces on the Manchester City v Brighton Wembley showdown.
On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android.
Today’s mystery man is a defender. I nailed him in two guesses with a score of 65. But, fans of his club can likely beat that.
Updated
Based on very sad feelings experienced as a child when the 1982 team went out to Italy, I still get upset when Brazil get eliminated from a World Cup. Zico, Eder, Socrates… isn’t it. Marvellous.
Anyway, here’s a look at the 2026 squad. Carlo Ancelotti being in charge gives me hope that they can turn it on. And, please Fifa, don’t let them wear blue shirts in any matches.
Anthony Gordon completed a £69.3m move from Newcastle to Barcelona yesterday. And while some thought it was an AI fake, the England winger then impressed the locals by answering several questions in fairly fluent Spanish. “I wanted to speak Spanish because, as I kid, I believed I would play for Barca, believe it or not,” said Gordaon. “I have a physio in Newcastle and we spoke every day and I told him that one day I would play for Barca, so I wanted to learn Spanish.”
Here’s Sid Lowe on Gordon realising his dream move.
Back to the big one tonight and Ed Aarons was also at Luis Enrique’s press conference. The PSG boss is set to field the same outfield 10 that smashed Inter 5-0 in last year’s final.
Barney Ronay has done us a favour by reading a book on Gianni Infantino so we don’t have to. Funnily enough, I was killing time watching some World Cup preview programmes on a recent plane journey in which the Fifa president popped up dressed like someone from East 17 in their pomp. A big white coat kindathing. Here’s a more recent one of him trying to appeal to Canadians.
Let’s come up for air from our Champions League buildup and switch focus briefly to the World Cup! Yes, it’s now less than two weeks until we drop everything and tune in excitedly to, erm, Mexico v South Africa.
Hopefully, you’ve been immersing yourselves in our Team Guides. Next up: Haiti. Any team whose star striker is named Duckens Nazon is worthy of further investigation.
“We have one, and now we want the second one.” Here’s Ed Aarons on Mikel Arteta’s hunger for trophies.
Another key question: which band will be headlining the pre-match show? The answer is The Killers.
“With more than 35 million albums sold worldwide and a catalogue including multi-platinum anthems such as Mr. Brightside, When You Were Young and Human, the band continues to captivate audiences across generations,” it says here.
The Killers themselves said this. And definitely word for word: “When we were asked to perform at the UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi we said, ‘Yes’ without hesitation; some stages speak for themselves. We’re honoured to celebrate the incredible teams and players at what will undoubtedly be an epic match.”
Here’s an obscure fun fact not quoted by uefa.com. Lead singer Brandon Flowers is the cousin of former PGA Tour golf pro, Craig Barlow. Of course, we all recall him finishing 26th in the 2006 US Open.
If you want more on Brandon Flowers, here’s something from the archives.
Will the demands of a punishing Premier League season catch up with Arsenal tonight? That angle is addressed here by the stats gurus at Opta.
“Across both squads, 12 players have played at least 3,000 minutes of competitive football this season, and nine of them play for Arsenal. If Jurriën Timber is passed fit, all of them could start on Saturday.”
Mikel Arteta: Perhaps had he taken a different path as a teenager, the Arsenal boss could have been hitting forehand winners in the French Open (full coverage here folks). Our man in Spain, Sid Lowe, delves into Arteta’s back story. Spoiler: he chose football over tennis.
Barney Ronay has already arrived in Budapest. Can Arsenal pull this thing off?
“Saturday afternoon at the Puskas Arena already looks like a twin-track event for Mikel Arteta’s team, an occasion that changes shape according to the angle from which you see it. On one hand, victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final would represent the greatest day in Arsenal’s history. On the other, this is an occasion that feels strangely light, fun, celebratory, a free-hit kind of final.”
And as for Arsenal actually beating the flamboyant holders?
“You’re not going to outdance Michael Jackson. But you may beat him at a really long and painful game of Scrabble.”
Updated
Donald McRae is usually doing a brilliant job of teasing great stories out of others. But, as an expectant Arsenal fan, he has his own tale to tell and it begins in a South African cinema in 1969. Donald and his 25-year-old son, who is just as besotted by the Gunners, will be at the final in Budapest this evening.
To witness a Champions League final in person, first you have to get there. And that’s far from straightforward.
“Ben Boxhall is flying to Kraków with two friends. They plan to catch a bus from Kraków to Budapest at 5am on Saturday. The trio have not got a hotel booked in Budapest and, after joining the thousands of fans expected at the Uefa meeting point where the game will be shown, plan to pull an all-nighter before catching the first bus back to Kraków. “We were looking at flying to Budapest but it was about £500 to £600 on Wizz Air,” said Adam Wares.” Instead they paid £170 for their return flights.”
Updated
Preamble
“A massive opportunity to do something special.” The words of Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka as the Gunners look to pull off a sensational double by following up their Premier League title success by winning the Champions League for the first time.
Opponents PSG broke their own European Cup duck last year and in scintillating style. Many shrewd judges fancied opponents Inter to grind out a narrow win in Munich; instead, Luis Enrique’s side led the Italians a merry dance to run out 5-0 winners and record the biggest victory margin in the competition’s history. The bookies make PSG favourites to retain their crown, but after ending their 20-year wait for a domestic league title perhaps the force is with Mikel Arteta’s men
The build-up begins here and, KICK-OFF ALERT, don’t be planning a day out or ordering a pizza for a 7.30pm date with the sofa as the game in Budapest kicks off at 5pm BST.
Beyond PSG v Arsenal, we’ll be travelling the globe for more World Cup news and also be looking ahead to the Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday.
Ready? Of course you are.
Let’s go! Allons-y!
