The UEFA Champions League final takes place Saturday in Budapest, Hungary, at noon ET (5 p.m. BST) in a blockbuster matchup of European giants.
Fresh off their first Premier League title in over two decades, Arsenal are eager add a first Champions League trophy in club history to their cabinet. But as the competition's defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain and their fearsome attack represent a formidable opponent for this winner-take-all showdown.
ESPN writers Gab Marcotti, James Olley, Julien Laurens and Sam Tighe have you covered with the biggest storylines, keys to victory for each team and more -- plus their picks for which team will claim the big prize.
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One year later, can a much-changed Arsenal flip the script on PSG?
What difference does a year make, anyway? Arsenal and PSG last faced each other less than 13 months ago in the Champions League semifinals. PSG won both legs, prevailing 1-0 at the Emirates and 2-1 at the Parc des Princes. Both managers -- but especially Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, because perfectionists tend to linger on defeats more than successes -- probably have scrutinized those games multiple times in search of an edge for Saturday.
Looking back, what strikes you is how open the two legs were and how things could have gone the other way. Sure, in addition to the three goals, PSG also missed a penalty and hit the woodwork twice, but then Arsenal forced a half-dozen miracle saves (three of them off Gabriel Martinelli) from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. And the expected goals -- even counting Vitinha's missed penalty -- ended up favoring Arsenal by a whopping margin: 4.54 to 2.90.
A year later, PSG are essentially the same, with one major exception: Matvei Safonov is now between the sticks. The Russia international has done well since winning the starting job halfway through the season, but he's no Donnarumma -- not yet, anyway. Like last season, when they rode a wave of momentum to the 4-0 hammering of Internazionale in the final, PSG are firing on all cylinders, as we saw in their epic semifinal against Bayern Munich.
William Saliba, left, and Arsenal have a shot at redemption after losing in the Champions League semis to Ousmane Dembélé, right, and PSG last season. David Ramos/Getty Images It's Arsenal who have transformed themselves in pretty much every department. William Saliba is the only likely holdover in the back four: Jurriën Timber is out, Gabriel will be back and they'll have a better defender -- either Piero Hincapié or Riccardo Calafiori -- at left back. In midfield, they'll probably have a deep-lying playmaker in Martín Zubimendi and a creative alternative to Martin Ødegaard in Eberechi Eze, as well as a hard-running alternative such as Noni Madueke on the wing. And of course, up front, they have two strong alternatives in Viktor Gyökeres and Kai Havertz, who was injured last year.