Being a battle of the highest scorers in the competition against the best defence, something was going to have to give for one of them to be crowned as the Kings of Europe in Hungary.
Current form favoured Arsenal
In games of this magnitude, the big names need to come to the fore and produce on the biggest stage, as a man-of-the-match showing can often be the key difference between winning and losing.
Current form in the lead-up to this showpiece favoured the North Londoners, as Arsenal had won five and drawn one of their last six in all competitions.
Though the final was being played at the neutral Puskas Arena, the Gunners had been designated the away team, and those supporters looking for an omen would point to the fact that Arsenal hadn't been defeated away in this season's UCL, earning five wins and two draws en route to Budapest.
PSG had won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six in all competitions, but many of their major stars came into the final much fresher than their opponents, having not even played half of the matches in their 2025/26 Ligue 1 campaign.
Dembele and Hakimi fit for PSG
The French side were given a boost ahead of kick-off with the news that Ballon d'Or-winning Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi would be passed fit, though whether they or any of their colleagues would be the ones writing the headlines, or indeed if an Arsenal ace would be doing so, would only be known by full time.
What transpired over the 120 minutes of action and the penalty shoot-out was an absolutely absorbing watch, with both teams deserving immense credit for playing a full part in making it so.
Kai Havertz's fine strike for the opener saw him become only the fourth player in European Cup/Champions League history to score in the final for two different clubs, and as Arsenal hadn't lost in the previous 33 games (30 wins, three draws) when the German had scored, the omens continued to be positive for the North Londoners.
In the first half, certainly, PSG were a shadow of the attacking team that they can be, but that was due in no small part to the defensive excellence of Gabriel.
Shame for Gabriel to miss the decisive penalty
The Brazilian won all of his one-on-ones and tackles, either aerially or otherwise, made the most clearances for his team (13, almost double every other Arsenal player), and also won back possession on three separate occasions.
What a great shame then that it was his penalty that ultimately ensured the Gunners lost this one.
Strong individual performances from Declan Rice and David Raya might also have made them contenders for the player whose showing could be considered the most important on the night, but neither they nor any other player had more of an impact than PSG's Joao Neves.
Even if it was understated excellence from the Portuguese.
No one had a bigger impact than Joao Neves
The 21-year-old was the only starting midfielder from the Ligue 1 outfit to last the full 120 minutes, and as the game wore on, he kept finding those little pockets of space with ease.
Always a willing runner and able in possession, he was often slightly ahead of the opposition in terms of his thought process, thereby able to create on the half-turn and take his nearest marker out of the game entirely.
The 23 duels he contested on the ground were the most of any player from either side, whilst his 10 aerial duels attempted were only two shy of Havertz's 12.
Winning the majority of both was evidence enough of Neves' desire, and he supplemented that with winning back possession on six occasions (only Achraf Hakimi did so more times, 7).
His earning of seven free-kicks (no other PSG player managed more than one) deserves to be highlighted too, as it disrupted the flow of Arsenal's play at various stages of the match and when it looked like the Gunners were getting back on top.
Three tackles attempted were the most from his side, and the winning of two of them equalled the output for this metric from any other player. Not to mention that his two interceptions were also the most from a PSG perspective.
Four shots on goal were the joint most from the Frenchmen, along with Dembele, and Neves' 11 touches in the Arsenal box were a best-in-class showing on the night, too.
Though he was only one of three PSG outfield players to post under 90% pass completion (87.5%), his all-around showing more than made amends.
A performance that may have gone under the radar for many was arguably the one which helped guide the Parisiens to becoming only the second team in UCL history to retain the trophy.
Check out the match stats here.
