PSG Squad Boosted by Hakimi and Dembele Ahead of Champions League Final

Paris Saint-Germain will go into Saturday’s Champions League final with two of their biggest weapons on the plane. Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele have both been named in Luis Enrique’s travelling squad to face Arsenal, easing fears that PSG would be stripped of pace and incision on the flanks for the biggest night of their season.

Hakimi has not played since pulling up with a hamstring injury in the first leg of the semi-final against Bayern Munich, an absence that threatened to rip a hole in PSG’s right side. Dembele limped out of the final Ligue 1 game of the campaign against Paris FC with a problem of his own. Both were serious doubts. Both are now in.

Their presence does not guarantee a starting place, but it sends a clear message: PSG are going to Budapest armed to defend their crown.

Hakimi Back Where It Matters Most

Hakimi knows this stage. He set the tone in last season’s final, scoring the opener in a ruthless 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan as PSG finally got their hands on the trophy. His surging runs, his ability to break lines from deep, his edge in both boxes – it all changes the geometry of a game like this.

Without him, PSG lose not just a right-back, but a major outlet in transition. With him, Arsenal’s newly crowned Premier League champions must think twice about how high they push their wide players and full-backs. One mistake, one loose pass, and Hakimi is gone.

For Enrique, who has built this PSG side around collective work with and without the ball, having his first-choice full-back fit enough to travel is a significant relief.

Dembele’s Threat on the Flank

Dembele’s inclusion is another surge of good news. The winger’s season has again been punctured by fitness concerns, yet when he is available, he stretches defences, draws double-marking, and opens corridors for runners inside him.

His injury against Paris FC arrived at precisely the wrong time, just as PSG were trying to fine-tune their rhythm for the final. The fear was that Enrique would be forced into a more conservative, less explosive front line. Instead, he now has the option of unleashing Dembele from the start or turning to him as a game-breaking substitute if the final tightens.

Arsenal’s Own Boost: Timber Returns

Arsenal, though, have their own reasons to feel encouraged. Fresh from lifting the Premier League trophy less than a week ago, Mikel Arteta’s side travel with momentum, confidence, and now a returning defender.

Jurrien Timber, out since March with a hamstring injury suffered against Everton, has been named in the Gunners’ squad for the trip to Hungary after making it back into training this week. He has missed 14 matches across all competitions, a long spell on the sidelines at a crucial point in the season.

His return offers Arteta extra flexibility at the back and another option in build-up. Whether he starts or not, his availability deepens Arsenal’s bench for a final that could easily stretch beyond 90 minutes.

A Familiar Foe and an Old Wound

This is not just a final; it is a rematch with scars. PSG are the team that ended Arsenal’s Champions League dream at the semi-final stage last season, winning 3-1 on aggregate. The decisive second leg swung on goals from Fabian Ruiz and Hakimi, as the French champions showed a ruthless streak when it mattered.

Arsenal now arrive as domestic champions, hungry to turn a memorable campaign into a historic one. The Premier League is already in the cabinet. Europe is the next step.

Standing in their way is a side that knows how to win this competition and has already done it under the brightest lights.

Barcola’s Warning Shot

Inside the PSG camp, there is no sense of complacency. Winger Bradley Barcola, preparing for his second Champions League final, framed the mood with a quiet edge.

“It’s a great honour to be playing in a second final,” he told club media. “We’re going to do everything we can to win it. We’re trying to build as much confidence as possible ahead of this final, and we’re going to work hard to make sure we’re ready.

“I really think it’s our collective strength. The fact that we play together, attack together and defend together. We really play as a team, and that’s our greatest strength right now.”

That word – collective – has defined PSG’s season. Less about individual star power, more about the block moving as one, pressing as one, suffering as one. It is the identity that carried them past Arsenal last year and Bayern this time around.

PSG Squad Locked In

Enrique’s travelling group underlines that blend of structure and talent.

• Goalkeepers: Chevalier, Safonov, Renato Marin
• Defenders: Hakimi, Beraldo, Marquinhos, Zabarnyi, L. Hernandez, Nuno Mendes, Pacho
• Midfielders: Fabian, Vitinha, Mayulu, Dro, Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves

It is a squad built to control games through the middle, attack with width, and defend aggressively in transition. With Hakimi and Dembele on board, the edges of that structure look far sharper.

Arsenal arrive as champions of England. PSG arrive as champions of Europe. One of them walks away with a double, the other with a summer of questions.