Bukayo Saka responds to claim PSG have major Champions League final advantage

Bukayo has denied Paris Saint-Germain’s well-rested stars will have a major advantage over Arsenal in Saturday’s Champions League final.

Luis Enrique’s side haven’t kicked a ball in anger since wrapping up another Ligue 1 title and concluding their domestic campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Paris FC on May 17.

A fortnight off has given the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele enough time to ensure they are fit enough to start having both been injury doubts until earlier this week.

Moreover, the number of competitive minutes played by the key members of PSG’s first team squad is far lower than their Arsenal counterparts who were involved in four competitions up until the start of April.

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Saka, however, is confident the extra rest the holders have enjoyed will not prove to be a decisive factor in Budapest this evening.

He said: ‘We’ve had a week to recover and prepare for this game.

‘A game like this is not going to be decided on minutes, it’s going to be decided on moments.’

While the numbers show PSG are the fresher bunch, with less tired legs in the squad, Arsenal’s relentless schedule has provided consistent match sharpness, which in itself could provide a vital advantage they might have over their opponents.

‘Does game and load management provide PSG with more recovery time and will they be fresher during the season? Absolutely,’ said Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics.

‘And the research would back that up. The single most reproducible finding in elite football injury research is that fixture congestion drives muscle injuries. If you have played significantly fewer matches in your domestic league, your accumulative load is lower so your injury risk is lower. PSG can statistically go into the game with a lower injury risk.

‘But I would be careful drawing a straight line from that to PSG being fresher on the day. Match sharpness is a completely different variable, and you can become physically under stimulated if you are not getting competitive minutes regularly. So it is not a question of who is more rested, it is who has the right balance between recovery and stimulus.’

Saka, meanwhile, whose upcoming battle with Hakimi could prove decisive in the destination of the trophy, is confident his team have what it takes to dethrone PSG and secure Arsenal’s maiden Champions League crown.

‘We know the history of the club and we know that tomorrow we can write history as players winning it for the first time,’ said Saka.

‘So that already is a lot of motivation for us.

‘We all know where my journey started. Seven, eight years old at Hale End. This was a long way away, trying to win the Premier League, trying to win the Champions League with Arsenal.

‘It feels like this last week, it’s all kind of become a reality. I’m very excited about the opportunity to win another trophy here and to create that history for the club that I love.’

Those sentiments were echoed by skipper Martin Odegaard who has his eyes on more silverware, just a week on from lifting the Premier League trophy.

He said: ‘I’ve been dreaming about winning these trophies, since I grew up playing football as a kid with my friends, in the little pitch next to my house in Norway.

‘It’s something special that we can achieve that has not been done before.

‘It was 22 years since we last won the Premier League, and now finally, we did it. So we want to make even more history.

‘When you get the taste of winning and lifting a trophy, you know how nice it feels. So obviously we want to do it again.

‘It would mean a lot to everyone, to our supporters, and we’re ready to do it. I’m looking forward to the game.’