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The optimistic reading for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal is that it is not over. And yet if they are to keep alive their shot at history, the pursuit of a first Champions League triumph, they are going to need something extraordinary in the second leg of this semi-final next Wednesday.
The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes will be red-hot and Paris Saint-Germain will not easily be shifted from the advantage that Ousmane Dembélé’s fourth-minute goal has given them. The French champions showed why they have won so many admirers across the continent this season, calling the tune for the opening 35 minutes or so. That was when their movement was irresistibly sharp.
Arsenal chased shadows but they resisted and they had their own moments. Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced to make crucial saves from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. Mikel Merino had a goal disallowed. But this was not the barn-storming night that Arteta had wanted, one to rival that here in the first-leg of the quarter-final against Real Madrid, when Arsenal won 3-0.
PSG were back in charge during the closing stages and the truth was they could have scored again. After João Neves had lifted a shot high, one PSG substitute, Bradley Barcola, dragged wastefully wide of the far post when clean through before another, Gonçalo Ramos, hit the crossbar when one-on-one with David Raya. Ramos had been all alone against the goalkeeper.
“Bring you boots”, Arteta had told the Arsenal fans. In other words, be prepared to live every moment with the players. The idea was for the biggest game in Emirates history to have the most emotional atmosphere, for Arsenal to feed off the sheer scale of the possibilities and it was quite the scene at kick-off; quite the noise, too.
Arteta had popped up on the big screen to deliver a message to each and every supporter. “It’s our time, I count on you to make it happen,” he said. Make it happen. It has become the slogan at Arsenal.
PSG made it happen at the outset, settling into their passing rhythms straight away and stunning the Emirates with the early goal. It drew a defiant response from the home crowd; delirium among the travelling Ultras, who lit flares and detonated a firecracker.
It was certainly a worry from an Arsenal point of view to see how easily Dembélé was able to motor up through the centre of the field and go left for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who ran at Jurriën Timber. Which was an even bigger worry. Kvaratskhelia popped the ball back to Dembélé, whose low first-time shot through a crowd was slightly scuffed but the precision made up for it, the ball kissing the far post on its way in.
PSG hogged possession for most of the first half, so comfortable on it, Vitinha prominent. From right to left, Désiré Doué, Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia shimmered with menace. It was the remorselessness of PSG’s press, as well. Arsenal had to work extremely hard to construct their moves from the back. There were anxious moments for them. The good news for Arteta was that his team dug out a foothold in the final 10 minutes of the first period, Bukayo Saka crackling to life, taking it upon himself to be the catalyst. When Jakub Kiwior pulled back for Mikel Merino, PSG were grateful to João Neves for a last-gasp tackle.
Arsenal’s big chance of the half came at the very end of it, Myles Lewis-Skelly releasing Gabriel Martinelli, who had only Gianluigi Donnarumma to beat from an angle on the left. The goalkeeper made a huge block.
Earlier, PSG could have had a second goal. Kvaratskhelia worked David Raya but it was Doué who fully extended him on 32 minutes, darting inside and shooting violently for the near corner. Raya changed directions very smartly to block.
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In between times, Kvaratskhelia wanted a penalty after running into a stray arm from Timber. He went down too easily. Arsenal began to get frustrated with the officials, a collective howl greeting the decision on 43 minutes to penalise Saka for a miniscule touch on Nuno Mendes. Saka would have been away on goal. He was booked for his reaction.
There was further angst at the start of the second half after Merino headed home from Declan Rice’s free-kick. After a ridiculously long delay, the VAR showed that Merino was offside.
Arsenal could feel the belief returning and the intensity. They pushed higher. Rice, playing as the No 6 in the absence of the suspended Thomas Partey, grew in influence. When he strode upfield in the 56th minute, he put Leandro Trossard clean through up the inside-left channel. Trossard’s pace turned it into an even bigger chance. His shot, which was not struck with enough power, was turned away by Donnarumma. It was a brilliant save.
The tension pounded. William Saliba made a vital challenge on Achraf Hakimi inside the Arsenal box but the question was whether Arteta’s team could make it happen at the other end. They could not. PSG reasserted themselves and it could have been so much worse for Arsenal if Barcola and Ramos had not blown their late chances.
