Arsenal must achieve something not done since Guardiola's Barça to win the Champions League

It is almost time for the 71st European Cup or Champions League final. Since the first edition in 1956, 24 clubs have been crowned champions of Europe, with Arsenal one of the 18 to have appeared in a final but never won one. Well, could Mikel Arteta's team change that in Budapest on Saturday night? Well, the weight of history is against the newly-crowned Premier League champions.

Their opponents at the Puskás Aréna are of course holders Paris Saint-Germain. Les Rouge-et-Bleu won their own first-ever Champions League title by steamrollering Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich a year ago, with Luis Enrique's side now seeking to retain the trophy. Well, once the defending champions do get back to the final, they are very rarely beaten.

List of European Cup/Champions League finals featuring the holders

2018: Holders Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv.

2017: Holders Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff.

2009: Holders Manchester United lost 2-0 to Barcelona in Rome.

1997: Holders Juventus lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund in Munich.

1996: Holders Ajax lost on penalties to Juventus in Rome.

1995: Holders AC Milan lost 1-0 to Ajax in Vienna.

1990: Holders AC Milan beat Benfica 1-0 in Vienna.

1985: Holders Liverpool lost 1-0 to Juventus in Brussels.

1980: Holders Nottingham Forest beat Hamburg 1-0 at the Bernabéu.

1978: Holders Liverpool beat Club Brugge 1-0 at Wembley.

1976: Holders Bayern Munich beat Saint-Étienne 1-0 at Hampden.

1975: Holders Bayern Munich beat Leeds United 2-0 in Paris.

1973: Holders Ajax beat Juventus 1-0 in Belgrade.

1972: Holders Ajax beat Inter Milan 2-0 at De Kuip.

1965: Holders Inter Milan beat Benfica 1-0 at San Siro.

1963: Holders Benfica lost 2-1 to AC Milan at Wembley.

1962: Holders Benfica beat Real Madrid 5-3 in Amsterdam.

1960: Holders Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden.

1959: Holders Real Madrid beat Stade de Reims 2-0 in Stuttgart.

1958: Holders Real Madrid beat AC Milan 2-0 in Brussels.

1957: Holders Real Madrid beat Fiorentina 2-0 at the Bernabéu.

Of the 70 Champions League finals to date, 21 have featured the defending champions. Paris Saint-Germain are looking to become only the ninth different club after Real Madrid, Benfica, Internazionale, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and AC Milan to retain the European Cup; los Blancos the only side to do so since 1990.

Overall, of these 21 finals in which the holders have appeared, 15 have seen this team retain the trophy. The last time the holders were beaten in a final was 17 years ago when Pep Guardiola's Barcelona beat Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

In the 21st century, aside from the Red Devils, Real Madrid were the only side to reach back-to-back finals prior to PSG. Zinédine Zidane's team retained the trophy in Cardiff in 2017 and then again in Kyiv, the first side to complete a three-peat since 1976. Well, that is something les Parisiens could be striving to achieve at the Metropolitano in 12 months time, unless Arsenal can do something about it.

So, have a first-time winner ever achieved this by beating the holders in the final? Well, this has happened on three occasions, with AC Milan picking up the first of their seven European Cups against Benfica at Wembley in 1963.

Both of Juventus' two titles came by beating the holders in the final, the first of which saw la Vecchia Signora defeat Liverpool in 1985, a triumph completely overshadowed by the Heysel disaster. Lastly, Borussia Dortmund's one and only European Cup came against Juve in 1997, a 3-1 victory at Olympiapark München, which was a major upset at the time.

Thus, in summary, a victory for Arsenal on Saturday would be historic, but not impossible.

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