Paris Saint-Germain Hosts Arsenal in Crucial Champions League Semi-Final Clash
Nineteen years on from their first dose of Champions League heartbreak in the French capital, history could repeat itself for Arsenal on Wednesday, when the Gunners reunite with Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their semi-final.
Ballon d’Or-chasing Ousmane Dembele came up with the only goal of the first leg at the Emirates, forcing Arsenal to try to do what only two teams have done before them to punch their ticket to the final.
The Gunners have it all to do away against the Champions League outright favourites with a 1-0 defecit, but they can take heart from having won at the Bernebeu in the previous round. If you think they can turn things around, take a look at this enhanced odds offer from Parimatch.
In some respects, Arsenal and PSG’s first leg was reminiscent of the Gunners’ quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid; only this time, it was the Premier League powerhouses making all of the pre-game noise only to fail to deliver on the pitch itself.
Paying little attention to the pre-match motivational videos and unorthodox tifo in North London, Luis Enrique’s Ligue 1 champions delivered the killer blow just four minutes in via the boot of Dembele, who equalled Kylian Mbappe’s record for the most Champions League goal contributions by a PSG player in a single season.
One disallowed Mikel Merino goal later, PSG travelled back across the English Channel with a slender but potentially priceless 1-0 lead in their semi-final, making Les Parisiens overwhelming favourites to earn a Munich date with either Barcelona or Inter Milan.
The hosts have only ever suffered one elimination from a European knockout tie when winning the first leg away from home, although that did come to English opposition in the shape of Manchester United in 2018-19, and Enrique oversaw a 2-1 Ligue 1 loss to Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg at the weekend.
That result contributes to an underwhelming streak of form for Les Parisiens, who have now lost three and won just two of their last six games across all competitions, but Enrique unsurprisingly put out a second-string team at the weekend, which is more than can be said for the men in red and white.
As PSG were beaten 2-1 in league action while resting most of their starters, Arsenal suffered the same fate with most of their big-hitters on the pitch against Bournemouth, who became the latest team to capitalise on the Gunners’ alarming failings at the back after taking the lead.
A striker’s run and finish from Declan Rice saw Arsenal land the first blow in the first half, but for the 10th time this season – a new unwanted club record – Mikel Arteta’s men dropped points from a winning position in a Premier League game as Dean Huijsen’s header and Evanilson’s bundled finish turned the tide for the Cherries.
There was a hint of handball – or ‘elbowball’ – about Evanilson’s winner, but Gooners could not argue that their side got what they deserved for another pitiful attacking performance, one that still leaves them at risk of missing out on a top-five finish in the English top flight.
Furthermore, only two teams have ever managed to progress from a Champions League semi-final after losing the first leg at home – Ajax against Panathinaikos in 1996 and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur against the former in 2019 – although Spurs will be loath to give their worst enemy any pointers on captivating away comebacks.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Gunners, though, as their side travel to the French capital on a seven-game unbeaten run away from home across all competitions, winning each of their last four on the road in Europe and scoring at least two goals each time.
Repeating their 2-1 Bernabeu victory over Real Madrid would give Arsenal a shot at salvation in extra time, but as PSG have struck a staggering 14 goals across their last three Champions League home victories, one should not knock Gooners for fearing the worst in Europe again.
Paris Saint-Germain Champions League form:
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Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
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Arsenal Champions League form:
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Arsenal form (all competitions):
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Team News
The one negative aspect of the first leg from a PSG perspective was goalscorer Dembele suffering a hamstring strain, but he avoided a serious problem and has been given the green light to face the Gunners.
Goncalo Ramos is waiting in the wings just in case, while South Korean playmaker Lee Kang-in is also a doubt after hurting himself against Strasbourg but would never have started this one.
Instead, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz will rejoin Joao Neves – the only Emirates starter who held his place against Strasbourg – in the engine room, while Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia return to work their wing wizardry in the final third.
On Arsenal’s side, Thomas Partey was missed to no end in the first leg as he served a suspension for a needless yellow card at the Bernabeu, but the Ghana international is now free to take his usual place as the Gunners’ midfield anchor.
Partey and Rice should operate alongside skipper Martin Odegaard, who appeared to take a slight knock at the weekend but nothing that should impact his availability for Wednesday, while Jurrien Timber trained on Tuesday after sitting out the Cherries loss so should be good to go too.
Jorginho (lung), Gabriel Jesus (knee), Kai Havertz (hamstring), Gabriel Magalhaes (hamstring) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are still watching on helplessly, but Riccardo Calafiori has a slight chance of coming back from his knee concern.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli
Views from the camps
Luis Enrique, Paris coach: “We’re bound to suffer because our opponents don’t have a favourable result. We need to match our performance as closely as possible in the first leg to win the return leg and stay true to our ideas.”
Achraf Hakimi, Paris defender: “I think the team is confident, we are really looking forward to the match and want to show our desire to qualify for the final. The atmosphere is going to be incredible. We want to send a very clear message [to the fans]: we’re going to give our all for them, to make them proud.”
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: “If you want to be in the Champions League final, you have to do something special. We’re going to have to do something special in Paris. We are here to make history; let’s do our talking on the pitch. Winning trophies is about being in the right moment, in the right place.”
Declan Rice, Arsenal midfielder: “We’re really positive we can do something here. I think you need to have full belief, we certainly have that as a group. If we are the best versions of ourselves we can do just that.”
