‘You know who we want’ – Saka drops big hint over who Arsenal want to face in CL final

Bukayo Saka has dropped a big hint over whether Arsenal want to face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

Saka delivered the winning goal on the stroke of half-time to fire the Gunners to a 2-1 aggregate semi-final triumph over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side will now face either Bayern Munich or PSG in Budapest on May 30, and Saka revealed that the Gunners do have a preference over who they face later this month, without revealing the club.

When asked on CBS Sports who Arsenal would rather face, he said: “Come on, man… you can’t ask me that. I’d have to give a media-trained answer.”

But pushed for a response, the England international added: “You know deep down who we’d want to face in the final.”

PSG and Bayern Munich served up a Champions League all-time classic last week as PSG edged their semi-final first leg 5-4 in the French capital.

Do Arsenal want revenge over Bayern or PSG?

So, who was Saka talking about?

Arsenal have history with both Bayern and PSG, playing both sides in the last 12 months.

The Gunners beat Bayern earlier this season with a dominant performance in north London to secure a 3-1 win over the German side.

However, two seasons ago Bayern eliminated Arsenal, who were back in the Champions League for the first time in seven years, at the quarter-final stage with a 3-2 aggregate win, while the Gunners were regularly beaten in competition by the Bundesliga side before Arsene Wenger’s departure from the club.

Another twist to facing Bayern would be coming up against former Totttenham striker Harry Kane and also former Man City defender Vincent Kompany, who is in charge at the Allianz Arena.

But is Saka talking about Champions League holders PSG?

If they face the French side, Arsenal will be out for revenge for last season’s semi-final defeat. Luis Enrique’s side, who lost 2-0 at the Emirates in last season’s league phase, ran out 3-1 aggregate winners before going on to lift the trophy with 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena.

Your views: ‘Bring on PSG or Bayern’

JonS: I actually don’t rate Bayern or PSG. Last week’s game had absolutely horrific defending, not great attacking. Arsenal’s immense defending will get them over the line, as we saw yet again on display last night.

Mark: Arsenal deserve to be in the final, no question about that. No idea who they will play later, let’s see how that ping pong match goes with such horrendous defending, no way either of those two teams beat Arsenal.

Martin: It’s okay saying Arsenal beat Bayern, but remember it was with home advantage in the group stage. PSG or Bayern, whoever goes through tonight wins it for me. They’re both entertaining teams to watch – there is only so much lucky winning by one goal Arsenal can do.

BillyH3194: Bring on either PSG or Bayern, we dismantled Bayern already this season, and we are more experienced and better defensively than we were last season. Gyokeres performing how he has been and we have an outlet to beat any press.

LukeM2094: Seeing a lot of people hating on Arsenal in the comments, let’s not forget we are unbeaten in Europe, finished top of the league phase, and beat the team everyone is saying will batter us, Bayern Munich, pretty comfortably.

Martin: Surely the winner of tonight’s Champions League match goes on to win it, personally I think PSG or Bayern will outscore Arsenal in the final.

Arteta thrilled as Arsenal ‘make history together’

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta hailed his “incredible” players for “making history” securing their place in the Champions League final.

Following Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday – which puts the Premier League title race in Arsenal’s hands – and their triumph over Diego Simeone’s side just 24 hours later, Arteta’s men are now only four matches away from completing a momentous double and securing the greatest campaign in the club’s 140-year history.

Arsenal have never won Europe’s grandest tournament, and Arteta said: “It was an incredible night. We made history again together and I cannot be happier and prouder for everybody that’s involved in this football club.

“The supporters were with us for every ball. They made it special and unique, and I have never felt it like that in this stadium.

“We knew how much it meant to everybody, we put everything on the line, the boys did an incredible job and after 20 years, and the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”

Arsenal will arrive for the showpiece as the sole unbeaten team in this season’s competition following a remarkable record of 11 wins and three draws. Indeed, their streak of 14 matches without defeat is a new Champions League record for the north London club.

But Arteta’s side will next take on West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, prior to a home match against Burnley and an away clash at Crystal Palace. Three wins will be enough for Arsenal to secure their first Premier League title in 22 years before they head to Hungary.

And Arteta added: “It’s great. Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything. Let’s use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but that we have the ability and the conviction to do it.

“I’m really going to enjoy it tonight, everybody’s enjoying this moment now. But tomorrow we have to start to prepare for Sunday. We have an incredible game against West Ham, a really tough one, and we’re going to have four days to do that. Let’s enjoy the moment but tomorrow let’s start to live in the present.”

‘We’ve dreamt of this our whole lives’ says Odegaard

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said the Gunners squad have been dreaming of reaching a Champions League final “their whole lives” after reaching European football’s showpiece event for the first time in two decades on Tuesday night.

The Gunners saw off Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate to reach the final in Budapest on May 30, where they will face one of Bayern Munich or PSG.

“It’s such a special night,” Odegaard told reporters. “Such an amazing moment for the team, the club, the supporters, everyone.

“It was beautiful, we’ve been working hard towards this type of moment. We said we wanted to go further than last year, we’ve done that and the stadium was on fire.

“Playing in a Champions League final is unbelievable and something we’ve been dreaming about our whole lives.”

Rice: This night has been coming at the Emirates

Declan Rice has called on 200,000 fans to descend on Budapest and carry Arsenal to an historic first Champions League title.

And although Arsenal have received an official allocation of just 16,824 tickets from UEFA for the final at the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena, Rice wants Budapest to be a sea of red for the fixture against either Bayern Munich or Paris St Germain.

He said: “Bring it on, bring it on, I’ll be ready. I want every Arsenal fan out there, 200,000 of you, come out. Let’s try and do it because we’re going to need all the support, all the energy and let’s make it special.”

The nerves which have jangled around the Emirates for much of the calendar year were replaced by a pulsating atmosphere under the lights on Tuesday – one Rice described as the greatest the stadium has seen since its inception in 2006.

Ahead of the game, thousands of Arsenal supporters lined the streets surrounding the Emirates to create a ferocious atmosphere for the arrival of the Arsenal team coach.

And Rice, who delivered a commanding performance at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield, continued: “I can’t describe it to be honest with you.

“It’s been coming, this night at the Emirates. It’s the best night at the Emirates that I’ve witnessed.

“From the moment we drove in, the coaches stopped and we thought, ‘What’s going on?’ Because usually, we just drive straight in, and the next thing we see is all the flares and the fans and the goosebumps from all the players looking out the window, it was just incredible.

“When we came into the stadium, too, you could feel the energy from everyone. Even if you’re tired, it just gives you that energy to keep going, and they played a massive part in making us win.

“This era of Arsenal fans, I know people who have been there from the start have had a lot of ups and downs, but I’m sure this is really up there for them. To win the game and get into a final is just so special.”

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