May 27 – The Champions League final this weekend sees two recently crowned champions of their domestic leagues meet each other. The PSG-Arsenal clash is also the first time in 55 years that clubs from two different capital cities have faced each other in a European Cup or UCL final, since Ajax of Amsterdam met Panathinaikos of Athens in the 1971 final.
Football Benchmark has analysed how the two clubs have financially, operationally and through the balance of transfer market spending and development of homegrown players, progressed to the top of Europe’s club eco-system.
While the clubs have different recent histories – PSG have won the last four Ligue 1 titles and ten of the last 11, and are current Champions League holders; Arsenal have won their first domestic league title in 22 years and have never won the Champions League – Football Benchmark says “the two clubs are strongly comparable across several key indicators. For example, the squads’ aggregate market values, as estimated by Football Benchmark in May 2026, are broadly similar, underlining Arsenal’s recent rise back towards Europe’s elite level.”
If social media numbers are an indication of a club’s core strength, then PSG have a significant lead with more than twice as many Instagram followers as Arsenal, “reflecting stronger modern-era sporting performance and the club’s accelerated global brand strategy.”
Football Benchmark says the final is an opportunity for Arsenal, to catch-up and that “sustained success at this level could create new commercial and audience-growth opportunities, further raising the importance of the final.”
Financially, Arsenal have caught up with PSG in total operating revenues, closing a difference of more than €235 million in 2021/22, to less than €17 million. Football Benchmark highlights Arsenal’s progress has been driven mainly by broadcasting and commercial revenue growth, supported by sustained UCL participation. The London club also overtook PSG in matchday revenues last season.
Where there are significant difference are in PSG’s staff-costs-to-revenue ratio of 63.9% which is higher than Arsenal’s 50.3%. The report also points out the “profitability points to contrasting risk profiles. Since 2021/22, PSG have posted combined after-tax losses of almost €580 million, whereas Arsenal’s total losses over the same period were less than a quarter of that figure, aligning more closely with the club’s long-standing ambition to operate on a self-sustaining basis.”
Squad construction shows that while both clubs have invested ‘consistently’ in the transfer market, neither “has relied solely on a small number of star players”. Focus has been on raising the quality and resilience of the entire squad with an emphasis on age.
PSG, since the departures of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi, have looked to younger players. Arsenal’ have built similarly around a young core developed over the past couple of seasons. “In both cases, the model requires continuity, coaching clarity, and a coherent playing philosophy to accelerate cohesion and development curves,” says Football Benchmark.
Academy development is important at both clubs. PSG have invested €344 million in their new PSG Campus in Poissy, which opened in January 2024, while Arsenal continue to upgrade their London Colney training centre.
PSG have fielded four academy graduates in this season’s European campaign, including Warren Zaïre-Emery. Arsenal have used seven academy developed players, including Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly, while Max Dowman became the youngest player in UCL history at 15 years and 308 days.
“The final arrives at a crucial point for both clubs. For PSG, the match represents an opportunity to consolidate a post-superstar era with consecutive European titles following years of investment and restructuring. For Arsenal, it is the chance to transform a long-term sporting rebuild into continental success and a new phase of global growth…” concludes the report.
“The final brings together two clubs that have reached Europe’s biggest stage through different financial models and competitive contexts, yet increasingly similar strategic principles.”
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