Champions League Final: A Historic Night in Budapest

Defending champions PSG are the first French club to reach three European Cup/Champions League finals and the first to appear in two consecutive finals. Last season, they became the second French team to win the competition, after Marseille's triumph in the 1992-1993 season.

PSG have a special affinity with English teams. Last season, on their way to the title, they won five consecutive Champions League knockout matches against Premier League sides: Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal in the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals respectively. This season, Luis Enrique's men also beat Chelsea and Liverpool in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals. To date, the French champions have lost only 1 of their last 12 UEFA matches against English opponents (9 wins, 2 draws).

As for coach Luis Enrique, the Spanish tactician has reached the Champions League final three times as a manager, having led Barcelona to victory in 2015 and PSG last season. Only four managers have won more than two titles in this competition: Carlo Ancelotti leads with five championships, followed by Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane, and Pep Guardiola with three each.

Under Luis Enrique, PSG have reached the Champions League final twice in a row and have a great chance to lift the trophy for the second time.

A case like PSG is very rare in the Champions League era. Whether PSG can become the second team to successfully defend the Champions League title as Real Madrid did remains to be seen, but looking at how they overcame Bayern in the semifinal, the strength of Luis Enrique's squad has reached its peak. Watching PSG display two completely different styles of play over the two legs, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany had to admit that the Bavarians had faced the strongest team in the world at this moment.

This season, no one is saying PSG were lucky on their way to the final. Last season, they edged past Liverpool on penalties, beat Aston Villa in a nail-biter, and struggled past Arsenal to reach the final. This year, their journey has been far more convincing. They beat Liverpool 4-0 and Chelsea 8-2. In the semifinals, they defeated Bayern with an aggregate score of 6-5.

It will be a tough challenge for Arsenal in the Budapest final. PSG have scored 44 goals in the Champions League this season, just one shy of Barcelona's record from 2000. Their attacking trio of Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, and Desire Doue are in near-perfect form.

Nevertheless, Arsenal have reasons to be confident. Arteta's side are the only club unbeaten in the Champions League this season and boast one of the tournament's best defenses with nine clean sheets in 14 matches. The Gunners are also the first team to go unbeaten through 14 games in a single Champions League campaign.

Arsenal are the only unbeaten team this season (11 wins, 3 draws), and this is their longest unbeaten run in European Cup/Champions League history.

After ending a 22-year Premier League drought, the Gunners now have the chance to complete a historic season with a double of the biggest trophies in English and European football.

Historically, PSG and Arsenal have met seven times in UEFA competitions, with balanced results: two wins each and three draws.

The most recent meeting between the two sides was in last season's Champions League semifinal, where PSG won 3-1 on aggregate. The only other knockout tie between them was in the 1993-1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semifinal, where Arsenal advanced after a 1-1 draw in Paris and a 1-0 win at home.

The match between PSG and Arsenal will take place at 11:00 PM on May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Hungary. If PSG represent the strongest attack in Europe right now, then Arsenal are the embodiment of defensive organization and discipline. That makes this year's Champions League final a highly anticipated clash between two modern football philosophies.