Arteta wants Arsenal to use the energy from their Premier League title triumph as they chase the club’s first Champions League crown.
Arsenal will train at the Puskas Arena on Friday evening as Mikel Arteta’s side make their final preparations for the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The newly crowned Premier League champions face PSG in Budapest on Saturday at 5pm, with Arsenal now just days away from the biggest European match in the club’s history.
Arteta’s players will be on the pitch at the final venue from 7pm on Friday, with the session open to the media.
PSG will travel to Hungary on Friday morning after completing their final work in France. After a rest day for players and staff, the French side were due back in training today at the PSG Campus in Poissy, with a behind-closed-doors session scheduled for 5pm.
They are then set to train again at 11am tomorrow, before one final session on French soil on Thursday at the same time.
A PSG press conference is scheduled for 3.30pm at the Puskas Arena on Friday, before their final training session inside the stadium.
Arsenal will follow later in the evening, giving Arteta and his players their first and only session on the pitch before the final.
It all comes after Arsenal lifted the Premier League trophy following a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their final domestic match of the season.
Arteta has made clear that he does not want the celebrations to reduce the competitive edge of a squad still chasing the club’s first Champions League title.
“We need that energy to flow and going against that, I think it will be a big mistake,” Arteta said.
“We talked about already what we have to do in Budapest, how we’re going to use all the incredible energy that we’re all carrying towards that final, and tomorrow we’re going to start to prepare it.”
Arsenal have already ended their long wait for a league title, but Saturday offers the chance to turn a brilliant season into an historic double. The Champions League remains the one trophy the club have never won, and Arteta has challenged his players to write themselves into Arsenal history.
“And we can’t wait to write a new chapter in the history of our club and lift the Champions League,” Arteta added.
The manager believes winning the Premier League has changed the feel around his players, not as a reason to relax, but as a source of confidence before they face the reigning European champions.
“I said to the boys that this shirt now represents something else,” Arteta said. “We are the champions, and that brings a lot of confidence and a different kind of presence and energy to it. But as well, another kind of responsibility as well.”
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