Starting with Aston Villa and then Crystal Palace, could Arsenal be next? Following this month’s European victories for Villa and Palace, the Premier League is on the brink of joining an exclusive group.
Crystal Palace capped a rollercoaster 2025-26 season by defeating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the UEFA Conference League final on Wednesday. With both clubs making their debut in a European final, Jean-Philippe Mateta‘s decisive goal secured the victory for Palace in Leipzig, Germany, marking a triumphant end to outgoing head coach Oliver Glasner’s tenure.
This followed Aston Villa’s impressive 3-0 win against Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final in Istanbul, ending their trophy drought and claiming their first major title since 1996 and their first European trophy since 1982.
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With Villa winning the Europa League and Palace clinching the Conference League, Arsenal now has the opportunity to secure a clean sweep for the Premier League in UEFA club competitions, should they triumph over defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final this Saturday.
Having battled their way to the Premier League title, the Gunners are back in the Champions League final for the first time in two decades, aiming to achieve an impressive double. However, they will face stiff competition from PSG, who are in pursuit of a remarkable five-trophy season.
A victory in Budapest, Hungary, would mark a historic moment for Arsenal as they aim to complete a Premier League sweep of all three UEFA club competitions in a single season—an exceedingly rare feat.
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How Arsenal can defeat PSG in the Champions League final
Historically, no country has ever achieved a modern treble—winning the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League—since the latter was introduced in 2021. Throughout UEFA’s history, the same league has provided winners for two competitions in the same season on 12 occasions. However, only once in over 60 years has a single country claimed all three titles in a single season.
The sole instance of such a clean sweep occurred in 1990 when three Italian clubs from Serie A won the European Cup (now the Champions League), UEFA Cup (now the Europa League), and the former UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, which lasted from 1960 to 1999.
In fact, during the 1989-90 season, there were four Italian finalists across the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with all three trophies being claimed by Italian teams in a single month.
To summarize, two goals from Gianluca Vialli helped Sampdoria secure a Cup Winners’ Cup victory against Belgian side Anderlecht in extra time. Additionally, Juventus narrowly defeated Fiorentina to win the UEFA Cup, while a single goal from Frank Rijkaard enabled AC Milan to triumph over Portugal’s Benfica to lift the European Cup.
The Italian league’s unique achievement of capturing all three UEFA competitions has stood unrivaled in European football ever since. With Arsenal poised to clinch another league title in Budapest on Saturday, they have the opportunity to make history for the Premier League as well.