EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBUDAPEST, Hungary -- The UEFA Champions League final is being billed as the "best attack" (Paris Saint-Germain) vs. the "best defense" (Arsenal) in European football, the unstoppable force colliding with the immoveable object. And like all storytelling tropes, there's a strong grounding in reality.By Saturday night, PSG could end up with the highest-scoring season of any side in the Champions League era, while Arsenal have conceded less than half a goal a game (0.43) in this tournament. Cue predictions of PSG laying siege to the massed ranks in the Gunners' defensive third, with Arsenal relying on the ever-familiar (and effective) set-piece strategy in response, with the occasional sortie in transition sprinkled in.However, it's just as likely that this isn't what we're going to see at the Puskas Arena on Saturday.Both coaches, PSG's Luis Enrique and Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, know full well the value of misdirection and versatility. After a buccaneering wild ride of a first leg against Bayern Munch -- final score, 5-4 PSG -- that saw them go man-for-man all over the pitch and turn the clash into a blacktop run on fast forward, PSG dialled it back in the return. Aided by Ousmane Dembl's early goal they made it about clogged passing lanes, controlled tempo and disruption from deep. Luis Enrique's attacking juggernaut had only 27 percent of the ball in the second half and, tellingly, they were more than comfortable playing that way.It was the equivalent of Michael Buble getting a diamond grill and rapping instead of crooning. And making it work.- Mega UCL preview: What you need to know about PSG vs. Arsenal- Tighe: Three tactical keys to Champions League final- Connelly: How Arsenal, PSG reached UCL finalArteta is also capable of pulling tactical rabbits out of his hat. Arsenal made the transition from possession-oriented, attack-minded, make-the-extra-pass-to-find-the-cutback style of the past few seasons (he did learn his trade under Pep Guardiola, after all: specifically the pass-heavy version of Pep we saw between 2016-19) to what they became this year: a unit that is more physical, more compact and more risk-averse. One that relies less on taking the game to the opposition and more on punishing errors, individual moments (which is why a guy like the unpredictable Eberechi Eze was such a huge pick-up in the summer) and yes ... set-pieces.But -- and too many overlook this -- it's not like they can't go back. We saw a bit of it when they faced Manchester City in the league, a game they lost, but also one in which they tried to out-football their opponent. And, to some degree, the shift in style away from the Martin Odegaard-Bukayo Saka right-flank possession chain that they relied on so heavily last season had to do with the injuries that slowed both this past season.Now that they're fit and firing again, who's to say Arteta won't be tempted to throw a curveball and revert to some version of last year's model?Indeed, there's a growing buzz around the possibility that Arteta might try to cram Odegaard, Eze and Myles Lewis-Skelly into the same midfield, alongside Declan Rice -- and at the expense of deep-lying playmaker Martn Zubimendi, who has been a fixture most of the season and whose signing was deemed essential last summer. That's right: the same Lewis-Skelly who is still just 19 years old, and who emerged last year as a more-than-competent left back before virtually disappearing until a month ago, only to reappear as a midfielder.It's just one of the many options at Arteta's disposal and it's a sharp contrast with PSG. We may not know the "how" of Luis Enrique's vision for Saturday -- as we saw against Bayern, they're also more than capable of changing things up -- but we know the "who."Assuming Achraf Hakimi is fit enough to start, the starting XI is set. Not so with Arsenal. In addition to the midfield scenario above, Arteta has choices to make at left back (the more athletic Piero Hincapi, or the more pass-oriented Riccardo Calafiori?) as well as up front: do you choose the wrecking ball that is Viktor Gykeres or the more rounded Kai Havertz who, because superstition is part of the football even at the highest level, has already scored a Champions League winner in a final?This depth of options is exactly what Arteta wanted when he persuaded the club to go on a massive spending spree last summer, bringing in eight new faces at a cost of more than $300 million. Part of it, no doubt, was the awareness of falling at the last hurdle in the Premier League title race due to injuries and a thin squad so many times in previous years. Arsenal were runners-up in three straight seasons and when they were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG last season, they were hobbled by injuries. Part of it is a desire for options when it comes to beating the opposition in different ways, with different personnel.Arsenal's heavy spend was also about sensing that this was their time, and that a window would be closing in the near future. Liverpool were overhauling their squad after winning the title in Arne Slot's first year, Real Madrid had a new manager in Xabi Alonso, Barcelona had the usual financial guardrails, amd many predicted this would be Pep Guardiola's final season at Manchester City (a prediction that came true). Chelsea were too dysfunctional, and Manchester United were out of Europe.The most likely juggernauts in their prime were PSG and Bayern. It was time to go all-in.This isn't an old Arsenal team, but this window won't stay open forever as the competition around them reloads and resets. Arsenal are here to carpe diem.Meanwhile, having already done it once, PSG are determined to do it again and become the first team, other than Real Madrid, to repeat as champions in 36 years. Luis Enrique, who has already won this trophy twice, says his side are better than last season: more mature, more experienced, more aware of the history they're about to write.One of these two will do just that come Saturday.
