Mikel Arteta named Kai Havertz to start up front for Arsenal in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on Saturday, the manager confirming the forward who returned from a long knee layoff would lead the line.
Arsenal made eight changes from the XI that began the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace six days earlier; only Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapié and Myles Lewis-Skelly kept their places. Gabriel and William Saliba returned to Arsenal's central defence with David Raya starting behind them. Lewis-Skelly slid into midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, while Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard were named as wing options.
Jurrien Timber was available on the bench after missing the past couple of months with a groin issue. Ben White was the only injury casualty reported for Arsenal ahead of kick-off.
PSG responded with five changes from their previous match against Paris FC. Ousmane Dembélé started after going off with a calf issue in his last outing, and Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes were restored to the side after not playing since the 5-4 semi-final second leg win over Bayern Munich a month earlier. William Pacho came into PSG's back line, Desire Doue started on the wing ahead of Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves returned and Lucas Beraldo dropped to the bench.
The selection confirmed a high-stakes decision: Havertz, who scored the winner in the 2021 Champions League final, is starting another European final despite missing almost five months this season after sustaining a knee injury on Arsenal's opening day against Manchester United. He returned in January after two surgeries and weeks in a knee brace.
Havertz reflected on the memories and the pressure of finals in a set of remarks ahead of the game. "It is something I will never forget," he said of scoring in 2021. "As a kid I could have never dreamed I would score a goal in the final and win that game. I will always be proud of it. I just try to take that feeling and hopefully it will happen again." He added: "I remember as a child I watched all the games – and just to watch that final is something very special. So to play in it is unreal."
He also described the darker stretch this season. "I was in a bad place when I was injured," Havertz said. "You are just inside a building. You cannot go out, you cannot walk, you do nothing. But all the players and staff helped me believe in myself and to get back to my best. Everyone told me from January how there is so much to play. That is where my momentum also shifted and I am just happy that I am here again now."
Havertz spoke warmly of the manager who brought him to the club. "[Arteta] was the one who brought me to the club and he taught me so much stuff on the pitch – and off the pitch as well," he said. "I am very thankful for that time, how he helped me a lot when I had difficult moments."
Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, speaking ahead of the final, voiced support for Havertz from outside the matchday picture. "I wish Kai success so that he can join us after success. Such a title brings positive energy," Kimmich said, adding that Havertz is "an extremely important player for us and is underrated in Germany."
Context for the selection is straightforward: Havertz's 2021 final-winner is a defining credential and Arsenal paid a reported fee to sign him from Chelsea two years after that victory. The forward's recent fitness history — almost five months out, two operations, a return in January — makes his inclusion notable on a day when every selection is amplified by the size of the prize.
The friction is immediate and practical. Arteta has placed a player who underwent two surgeries and long rehabilitation at the centre of his plan for one of the sport's most high-pressure matches. The question left hanging as the teams kick off in Budapest is direct: will Havertz's return produce another decisive moment in a Champions League final, as it did in 2021, or will the long absence blunt his impact?
Kick-off will answer that question. For many supporters, the image of Havertz chasing another final winner sits beside memories of other icons — Thierry Henry among them — and the outcome will determine whether Arsenal's gamble on a recovered forward pays off on Europe's biggest night.
