Paris Saint-Germain recorded a fierce battle victory over Arsenal in the first round of their encounter in the Champions League semi-finals, which they played for the Emirates on Tuesday. The only goal of the game came early as Oousmane Dembele collided in the 4th minute.
team
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had no more than seven players due to this important fixture. Transferring defenders Gabriel Magalges, Ricardo Carafioli, midfielders Gorguinho, and Kai Herberts and Gabriel Jesus, missing all the injuries issues, midfielder Thomas Party missed this through accumulation of yellow cards.
David Raya was in the finish line. William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior were paired in the centre of the defense, with Julian Timber on the right and Mile Lewis Skelly on the left. The mid-length trio consisted of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegard. Gabriel Martinelli attacked from the left, while Bukayo Saka attacked from the right and Lando Torosad from the middle.
Meanwhile, PSG boss Luis Enrique had a full team at his freedom.
With Gianluigi Donnaruma in between the posts, centre backs Marquinhos and Willian Pacho were adjacent to Nunomendes on the left, and on the right were sandwiched between Achuraf Hakimi. Bicinha locked in the midfield, with Fabian Lewis and Jois Neves joining. The infamous liquid attack line consisted of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, denounced the likes of Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos on bench locations.
Match Summary
Both teams showed a clear desire to impose themselves as the dominant side from the start, but when Dembele advanced the ball, used Kvaratskhelia to the left, hit an accurate low shot using Kvaratskhelia from Georgian Winger, and received a return pass from a Georgian winger to graze the inside of the post, the PSG showed a clear desire to impose itself first.
Embedded from Getty Images
It was clearly a cold shock for the home side, but the early PSG goals were nothing really different with Arsenal’s approach, with the gunner simply pushing high and sought to remove the calm of the League One champion. But they get very little like that, and the PSG Midfield is equipped with equipment to deal with their press.
Arsenal’s set piece routine is certainly dangerous, but the PSG player’s pace is difficult to check at the counter, and such an opportunity forced Torosad to book Hakimi’s foul in the 10th minute. Kvaratskhelia also showed early that the wood has a lot of its hands throughout the game. In the 14th minute, PSG had another good chance with Marquinhos rising high and leading Hakimi’s cross on target, but Raya easily saved.
Less than two minutes later, Kvaratskhelia broke past three enemies and went down in contact inside the Gunners box, but judge Slavko Vincic looked back at his penalty claim. The truth was a cheap attempt by Georgian to score a spot kick for the team.
With most options still remaining, Arsenal tried to place a game on his opponent, but there was a time when he was able to bring the ball into Donnaruma’s box, but he didn’t create any neighbors and was reverted to the half-hour mark when Raya produced an epic save to reject Doo.
In the 37th minute, Arsenal suddenly got a big chance after breaking into the box from the left, but Neves did surprisingly well, thrustling the ball in front of Merino on the six-yard line. Just three minutes later, Saka jumped into life, moving from right to left, floating the cross towards the far post where the lonely Martinelli couldn’t reach it. Rice then worked out to set up the Torosad, but the Belgian’s scuffing efforts were an easy catch for Donnaruma.
In the 43rd minute, officials made an obvious mistake as the lineman flagged a non-existent Sakafoul on Mendes, and the Arsenal winger found himself in Vincic’s book for kicking the ball in frustration. And just as the opening 45 minutes had expired, Martinelli suddenly broke one-on-one with Donnarumma.
The Gunners’ efforts seem to have paid off just over a minute into the second half. It was a proper Arsenal special, with Rice throwing the exact free-kick cross into the box, and Merino heading back of the net from six yards. However, the stadium was hit by another blow, with Val intervening and dominating the offside goal.
Attached to this misfortune, Arteta’s men continued to pour all their energy into finding an equalizer for another ten minutes. The offensive wave relented and it seemed that PSG would regain control, so Rice carried the ball up to the pitch and used a trosad on the left. But Trossard’s well-taken shots only encouraged Donnarumma to make a world-class save.
It wasn’t that PSG didn’t have a moment. Just before the time mark, Dembele created a lovely opportunity for Hakimi, but Saliba showed why he is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the game at this point. Still, they found it difficult to maintain their possessions primarily for a long time, and the ball spent the majority on half the pitch.
Enrique boasted a longer bench and made the first change of the game in 20 minutes as Dembele gave way to Barcola as he saw his team shaking. Five minutes later, Ramos joined the fight in place of Doue.
PSG had the first right chance of the second half in the 77th minute when Barcola led Neves to the shot from the edge of the box, but Neves fired over the bar. However, it was a sign that visitors were beginning to threaten again, and just three minutes later Kvaratskhelia showed him his quick feet before shooting high. It was also a sign for Arteta to react, and the wood made a way for Ben White.
It took place too early as the very next attack, after pairing with Hakimi and Ramos, presented an incredible opportunity for Barcola. Ramos was the next to wasting a glorious opportunity, set by a great long ball from Pacho.
With less than four-minute remaining, Martinelli scored an Arsenal free kick in a very promising position on the left. However, Rice was blown up into the crowd and saw his efforts were hampered by the vast numbers of bodies there.
Neves then left the pitch, and then Enrique gave Warren Zar Emery the final minutes of the game. Arteta also made changes, bringing out Odegaard in favor of Ethan Nwaneri.
But one thing that remained the same for the rest of the match was the scoreline.
Dembele Reborn for PSG Brilliance
There’s been much said about the PSG change approach to player recruitment under Luis Enrique. There are no more star signatures for incredible money. The days of Neymar, Killian Mbappe and Lionel Mez are gone, not to mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Kavani.
Instead, the current head coach formed a loaded offensive line with pace, ball skill and boldness, and he made it work as he’d done before.
Although Kvaratskhelia, Barcola and Doue’s careers appear to be on the rise constantly, Dembele had a difficult and injured spell in Barcelona before joining PSG. However, it is now clear that his qualities are perfectly suited to Enrique’s offensive ideas, and the results were phenomenal. The 27-year-old has held his hands directly with 45 goals (33 points and 12 assists) in many appearances in every competition this season. And if there is one goal in this game, he will certainly be the first to win it.
Not only did he apply the finishing touches, he was also the intelligent positioning of the Frenchman (sliding behind Mikel Merino to before Arsenal’s defense), allowing Kvaratskhelia to choose him with a key pass.
He fully embraced the role, frequently creating numerical advantages in the middle, even falling deep to receive it from half the PSG’s center. Their fluid movements made them nearly impossible to contain, and Arsenal players were always glancing at their shoulders as the intense press was typically broken repeatedly.
The technical mastery of PSG allowed them to determine the tempo, but it was their strength in the duel that slowed down the real momentum from the home side. The early dominance set the tone, but their calm was slow – they kept their possession calmly as Arsenal grew more urgent – as well.
This is a team playing with an incredible maturity.
Donnarumma Masterclass
Donnarumma, a frequently criticized target since his arrival in Paris during his PSG’s run to the semi-finals, stepped up at a key moment. He saved two penalties at Anfield, took important intervention amid intense pressure to eliminate newly crowned Premier League champion Liverpool and help the Aston Villa advance.
The Italians did not take action frequently in Tuesday’s clash in north London, but the timing and quality of his contributions were essential. Just before halftime, he denied Martinelli with a strong right hand. It was expected, but saved it and still demanded a sharp reflection. After the break he got better for one, responded brilliantly and fell down, chipping over a far post on Trossard’s powerful angled strike.
Embedded from Getty Images
Although Donnarumma’s qualification for shot stopping was never questioned, he showed signs of growth in other regions as well, directing the box with more confidence and playing calmly with the accumulation of PSG.
Arsenal needs to step up to Paris
Half an hour after the opening, the rest of the match was a more uniform contest, but Arsenal fell into the idea when minutes were ticked. After Donnaruma’s outstanding stop to denial Torosad in the 56th minute, the PSG goalkeeper remained untested. A terrible indictment of the gunner’s creative stagnation.
Given the lack of inspiration, questions are asked about in-game management for Mikel Arteta. Was he bold in his place? Ben White may have provided another dynamic on the right, and Martin Odegard’s poor display definitely deserved the previous hook.
PSG was fantastic on Tuesday night, but the pre-match mood in North London was one of cautious optimism as they felt this could ultimately become an Arsenal year, following a strong elimination of 15-time champion Real Madrid. Now, to reach the final, they have to do something special in Paris towards the side that is unlikely to easily abandon their possessions.
Arteta’s subordinates need to change their approach. Arsenal usually thrives when controlled, but the second leg requires sharper execution and tactical flexibility. The vulnerability of the set piece and the PSG high line could be an opening to take advantage of, but they risk staying early in the ties or being wiped out with the Parc des Princes Cauldron.