Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori appears to have begun the mind games ahead of the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, suggesting that the Gunners may want to lift the trophy “more” than their opponents.
Arsenal go into Saturday night’s showpiece fixture in Budapest having celebrated clinching their first Premier League title for 22 years, though still without a Champions League triumph to their name.
It is only the Gunners’ second-ever appearance in the final and first for 20 years, having been edged out 2-1 by Barcelona in agonising fashion in Paris in 2005/06 under Arsene Wenger.
Reigning French champions PSG, by contrast, go to the Puskas Arena as the holders, having finally ended their own long wait for glory 12 months ago by demolishing Inter Milan 5-0 on their second final appearance in Munich, completing a historic trophy quadruple in the process - making it six won overall in 2025 alone.
Asked how Arsenal can avoid a similar fate to that of Inter this weekend against a PSG side who have already won four trophies this term in Ligue 1, the Trophee des Champions, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Calafiori questioned if they would be able to match Mikel Arteta’s team in terms of motivation levels after their long-awaited success last season.
“I always like to think about and focus on my team and myself,” the Italian international told CBS Sports. “And I think my team-mates will do the same.
“For the first time I think this season, we have a lot of days to prepare for this game.
“We’re going to do everything that we can. Obviously they won last season, but I see this as an opportunity for us as well. Maybe we want [it] more than them.”
Saturday’s Champions League final is a clear clash of styles, with Arsenal’s set-piece masters up against a PSG side known for their entertaining attacking philosophy under Luis Enrique.
Asked how the Arsenal players respond to criticism of their football as “boring”, Calafiori said: “I don’t think that’s completely true.
“We had some good moments until December, January, then obviously we had a period where we were not playing that good, but still we were winning and that’s what makes the difference - when you are not playing so good, but you still manage to win the game.”
