NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani reflects on Arsenal's journey from UCL losers in 2006 to the brink of glory again

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FT Desk

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is hoping Arsenal can win the Champions League for the first time on Saturday.

Mamdani, a longtime Arsenal and soccer fan, has reflected on past failures for the Gunners, starting with the 2006 Champions League final.

Arsenal have only ever been in one Champions League final before and it came 20 years ago against a resurgent Barcelona. Despite Jens Lehmann being sent off early doors, Arsene Wenger's men eventually led thanks to a bullet header from Sol Campbell.

However, Barca boss Frank Rijkaard would change the game with the introduction of Henrik Larsson, who set up Samuel Eto'o for the equaliser and Juliano Belletti for the winner, as the Blaugrana won 2-1.

"I got stuck at school during the Champions League final," he wrote in the Athletic.

"When I finally made it home, our goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had already been sent off. I watched as we made it to just 20 minutes away from glory. Twenty years later, the name of Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson still hurts to hear."

Mamdani says he looked to bring glory to Arsenal by himself, albeit via Champ Manager.

"I coped by taking matters into my own hands," he continued.

"Even by virtual standards, I was aggressive in the Championship Manager and then Football Manager transfer markets. I finally signed Sebastien Frey, after years of real-life links. Under my stewardship, Jeremie Aliadiere and Jermaine Pennant became the stars we always knew they could be and we brought in Yoann Gourcuff, who soon fulfilled his Zidane-caliber potential."

It has taken Arsenal two decades to reach the final again and have made it thanks to the extraordinary job undertaken by Mikel Arteta, who recently guided the team to their first Premier League title since 2004.

It hasn't been an easy process, with two eighth-placed finishes in his first two seasons in the job.

But, Mamdani says he and Arsenal fans always kept the faith when the club faced adversity.

"We went from the team that could sign Sol Campbell from Tottenham to the one that watched Robin van Persie sign for Manchester United," he recalls.

"And it happened again and again, with Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, even Cesc Fabregas. Each of them had once heralded a new era for the club, and each of them left before that era ever truly arrived. Talk of titles was replaced by the idea that fourth place was its own title. And still we supported the club.

"When Manchester United destroyed us 8-2 — a match I watched through gritted teeth as a sophomore in the Baxter House common area at Bowdoin College — we supported the club. When Sebastien Squillaci was starting in the heart of defense and RVP scored 30 goals for United, we supported the club.

"When Jose Mourinho called Wenger a ‘specialist in failure’ then beat him 6-0 in Wenger’s 1,000th match in charge, we supported the club.

"We supported the club because you do not leave the club you love.

"In any case, our love of Arsenal ran so much deeper than a simple love of success."

He continued: "And throughout every moment, when a Manchester City resurgence felt inevitable, when the socialist project felt fragile, when both football and politics appeared determined to reward only wealth and cynicism, I have returned to the words of a man with no enemies: Bukayo Saka. “It’s a process.” And we should trust it.

"When VAR saved us from Callum Wilson — trust the process.

"When Erling Haaland started singing Avicii as Declan Rice insisted it wasn’t done — trust the process.

"When Mikel Arteta motivated the team by drawing a heart and a brain on a posterboard — trust the very bizarre process."

Mamdani then looked ahead to the 2026 Champions League final when Arsenal take on the might of Paris Saint-Germain, who won the 2025 tournament after demolishing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

"And now we arrive at Saturday," he said.

"There will be moments against PSG when the process feels very hard to trust indeed. They are brilliant. Their midfield is perfectly balanced. They are frustratingly well-managed. They have some of the best players in the world.

"Doesn’t matter — trust the process. Back the man who took us from playing Bodø/Glimt to playing in Budapest. Most of all, enjoy this moment, because they don’t come around often. Twenty years, to be exact."

Finally, the NYC mayor couldn't help but have a dig at Tottenham, who came extremely close to being relegated this season:

"And no matter what happens, remember, it could be worse — we could support Tottenham. And what do we think of them?"