Six battles that will decide the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain

This battle will be box office. Bukayo Saka hasn't had a particularly impressive season - injuries played their part - but Arsenal are a completely different attacking proposition when their 'Starboy' is fully fit and firing. 

Saka is obviously very skilful, but there are two reasons why he's so important to the Gunners. Firstly, he's fearless, meaning he's never afraid to take chances and run at defenders. Secondly, he's excellent defensively, which is why he's sometimes been deployed as a wing-back - or even at full-back - during his career. 

Consequently, there are few players in the game today better equipped to not only trouble Nuno Mendes, but also curb his offensive threat. Whether Saka actually manages to achieve that twin objective is doubtful, though. 

Mendes is, by some distance, the best left-back in the world - as he once again proved in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern. The outrageously gifted Michael Olise initially caused Mendes all sorts of problems in Paris, but the Portuguese eventually got to grips with the Frenchman and completely shut him down in the second leg. 

Saka will doubtless take comfort in the fact that he scored against PSG in last year's semi-final second leg in Paris, but Mendes definitely got the better of the England international over the two legs. If he does so again on Saturday, Arsenal will struggle to score.

At the time of writing, it's still unclear if Jurrien Timber will be fit to feature in the final. What we can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, though, is that Arsenal desperately need the Dutchman to play as he's their best - and arguably only - hope of containing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The former Napoli winger is one of the main reasons why PSG are one win away from becoming the first team since Real Madrid to retain the Champions League. His 2025 winter-window arrival played a pivotal role in the Parisians' inaugural triumph and he's been even better this season.

Indeed, 'Kvaradona' - as even Luis Enrique now calls him - has already made history by scoring or assisting in seven consecutive Champions League knockout stage games. Preventing him from making it eight in a row is going to be incredibly difficult - even if Timber is given the green light to start. The Netherlands international hasn't played since March, so it's hard to see him lasting even an hour against a winger that's as skilful as he is industrious. Even then, it would be a case of who do you bring on?

After all, Arsenal's major issue at right-back is compounded by the fact that Ben White is definitely unavailable through injury, so we could see a centre-back (Cristhian Mosquera) or even a midfielder (Martin Zubimendi) charged with marking the most in-form footballer in the world right now.

As Ray Parlour told GOAL ahead of the final, "Kvaratskhelia is one of the best players I've seen for a long time, so it'll be interesting to see what Arteta can do [at right-back]. I really don't know. I mean, that's going to be the main worry for him, there's no doubt about that."

Consequently, we could well see Saka asked to come back as much as possible to help out whomever is tasked with marking 'The Georgian George Best'.

PSG have a major fitness doubt of their own at right-back, with Achraf Hakimi still struggling with the same hamstring injury he sustained in the closing stages of the first leg against Bayern. The Moroccan didn't feature in an in-house friendly last week and, according to L'Equipe, is now highly unlikely to start on Saturday.

Hakimi's absence would be a massive blow for Luis Enrique. He's a total footballer, as good offensively as he is defensively, and thus utterly integral to the way in which PSG play. If he misses out, we'll probably once again see Warren Zaire-Emery at right-back.

Despite some shaky moments up against the livewire that is Luis Diaz, the France international actually did a decent job coping with the Colombian while at the same time getting forward whenever he could.

Still, you can be 100 percent certain that Leandro Trossard will be absolutely delighted if he's pitted against a 20-year-old midfielder on Saturday, rather than the best full-back in the world.

This is obviously not a direct head-to-head. David Raya and Matvey Safonov are unlikely to even get close to one another once the game gets under way - unless, of course, Luis Enrique or Arteta require an extra body in the penalty area while pursuing a last-gasp leveller from a set-piece.

However, a goalkeeper can, for better or for worse, often prove decisive in a Champions League final - and this is arguably the biggest gulf of quality we've seen in the two starting shot-stoppers since 2018, when Loris Karius went up against Thibaut Courtois and effectively handed the trophy to Real Madrid with two terrible errors.

We're obviously not trying to say that something similar is in store for Safonov in Budapest, but he's unquestionably the weak link in this almost perfect PSG team.

Remember, Luis Enrique infamously ditched Gigi Donnarumma last summer, even though the Italian had been key to PSG's Champions League success, because he felt Lucas Chevalier was more suited to his style of play. Well, Chevalier has proven a liability from the get-go, leaving Luis Enrique with little choice but to drop the France international at the tail end of November and instead put his faith in Safonov.

In his defence, the Russian has done a decent job as PSG's No.1, but he's simply not in the same class as Raya, who has been almost unbeatable at times this season. Even more worryingly for PSG, though, is that Safonov is suspect at set-pieces - and that's a major problem for a goalkeeper going up against this Arsenal side.

Just like Hakimi, Dembele sat out PSG's in-house friendly last week but, unlike Hakimi, Dembele is confident of being "100 percent fit" for the final.

"I'm doing very well. I had a slight scare against Paris FC, but I'm fine," Dembele told RMC Sport after being taken off early in the derby on May 17 with a muscular issue. "I've had so many minor scares or major injuries in my career, whether here at PSG or even before, so I just preferred to stop and above all not take any risks, especially with the final coming up."

If he is in optimal condition, that's definitely not good news for Arsenal, as Dembele was key to PSG overcoming the Gunners in last season's semi-finals. The France international scored the only goal of the game at the Emirates before teeing up Hakimi for the Parisians' killer second goal in their 2-1 win at Parc des Princes the following week.

However, if there's any defensive duo capable of getting to grips with Dembele - who is the key to PSG's fantastic fluidity up front - it is William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Their partnership has only got stronger over the past year, which is why Arsenal have proven impossible to defeat in this season's Champions League.

The pair dovetail wonderfully well together, with Saliba's elegance, pace and composure perfectly complemented by Gabriel's aggression, strength and mastery of the dark arts. So, if the best centre-back pairing in world football right now can nullify the current Ballon d'Or holder, then Arsenal will have a real shot at upsetting PSG.

After driving Arsenal to Premier League glory, and a first Champions League final since 2006, Declan Rice is being touted as a potential Ballon d'Or winner - particularly as he'll be lining out for a much-fancied England at this summer's World Cup in North America.

However, for Rice to be crowned the best player in the game today, he's going to have to first prove himself the best midfielder in the game today - and that's a title currently held by one of his opponents on Saturday, Vitinha.

The Portuguese may not have Rice's stamina or physical attributes, but the diminutive PSG playmaker is a much more intelligent footballer blessed with better vision and a vastly superior range of passing.

What makes Rice's task even more difficult, though, is that Vitinha is just one of three tremendously talented players in Luis Enrique's engine room. Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz are outstanding footballers in their own right and, over the past 18 months, only Bayern Munich have really come close to getting the better of PSG's magnificent midfield trio.

Rice will, of course, relish the challenge, but he doesn't have anything like the same supporting cast, with Arteta facing a massive call over whether to start the inexperienced but fresher Myles Lewis-Skelly ahead of a visibly tiring Zubimendi, while at the same time praying that captain Martin Odegaard turns up this time after going missing in both legs of last season's semi-final loss to PSG.

Rice's boundless energy gives Arsenal a chance, but he's going to need a lot of help if he's to win the midfield battle that will likely decide the war.