Arsenal Face Paris Saint-Germain After Winning Premier League Title After 22 Years

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday's Champions League final after Mikel Arteta's side clinched the Premier League title after 22 years.

“Football writer Adrian Clarke looks at the defining elements of Arsenal's brilliant title-winning campaign”

Premier League

The Express Tribune frames the matchup as a clash of styles, with PSG's flowing attack described as "arguably the continent's most exhilarating" while Arsenal are "wedded to a pragmatic approach".

Premier League

The Express Tribune says Arsenal have conceded only six goals in 14 matches and are unbeaten in the Champions League, while PSG have let in 22 through the tournament.

PSG coach Luis Enrique is quoted saying, "Without the ball, they are the best team in the world," as the article contrasts Arsenal's structure and discipline with PSG's transition threat.

Arsenal's title-winning season is also tied to set-piece routines, with the Express Tribune noting 27 Premier League goals scored from dead ball situations and 38 percent of their total.

In the Premier League, Adrian Clarke's analysis in the Premier League section credits Arsenal's set-piece prowess for a division-high 24 goals from dead-ball situations, including a Premier League record 18 from corners.

Clarke writes that "Eight goals have arrived off the back of a Rice inswinger" and that Saka has provided six corners from his left-footed deliveries.

The Express Tribune

The same analysis says Arsenal have kept 19 clean sheets in the Premier League across 37 matches, and it adds that Arteta's side have shut out opponents in 19 of 37 matches.

Clarke also highlights Arsenal's ability to win tight games, saying from 1-0 up the Gunners have earned a league-high 2.73 points per match, winning 23 times, drawing twice and losing just once.

The Express Tribune similarly emphasizes defensive restraint, stating Arsenal have kept 19 clean sheets and that if teams do penetrate the backline they must beat David Raya, who has matched the record of nine clean sheets in the Champions League.

The New York Times describes Arsenal's Premier League title as the result of a long-term plan, saying the squad gathered at their London Colney training ground on Tuesday to watch Bournemouth's draw with Manchester City.

“Twenty-two years in the waiting, six years in the making: the Premier League title is Arsenal’s again”

The New York Times

It says Arsenal's decision-makers projected a "win window" between 2023 and 2027, and that everything Arsenal did was built around that calculation.

The New York Times also recounts how, in the winter of 2020, Mikel Arteta flew to Denver in the United States alongside then non-executive director Tim Lewis to meet the club's owner Stan Kroenke.

It adds that Arsenal developed a defined approach to the market, seeking to sign players aged 23 or under and cost "€40million (£34.6m/$46.4m at the current rates) or less."

The article links the planning to recruitment and continuity, noting that in the summer of 2021 Arsenal made six first-team signings, "almost all of whom met the above criteria," as the club aimed to peak as rivals started to fade.