Arsenal vs PSG: 5 Takeaways From a Breathless Encounter

Two teams from two of Europe’s more storied capitals clashed yesterday in one of the season’s most anticipated games. Arsenal vs PSG was not just any other Champions League semi-final. It was a meeting of two teams that have shown steady progress recently, painstakingly molded by their respective coaches’ philosophies. From a neutral perspective, this tie promised a feast of attacking football that couldn’t be missed.   

1. Gunners Were Shell-Shocked

If Arsenal had a little ring rust from being away from the Champions League’s last four for over a decade, it certainly showed. They didn’t know what hit them after the referee blew the kick-off whistle. The blue jerseys zipping past them, moving the ball with dizzying speed and precision, visibly had Mikel Arteta’s boys reeling. 

When it came, three minutes in, the goal was no surprise. The Parisians broke through Arsenal’s press with 27 quick passes and before you could say ‘golazo’, the net was bulging. Watching PSG in those first 20 minutes, you can understand why Aston Villa Captain John McGinn came away calling them “the best team in the world”.   

Arteta himself was too shell-shocked to lift his boys, appearing overwhelmed on the touchline. Perhaps Arsenal’s triumph over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals had lulled them into a false sense of superiority. Their inability to channel this superiority into what should have been a routine home win over Crystal Palace last Wednesday should have been a wake-up call.  

2. Arsenal’s Newfound Resilience

Looking back at past Arsenal sides, a few would have capitulated after PSG’s strong start. Arsène Wenger, watching pensively from the stands, frequently complained of his charges lacking maturity and mental fortitude in his coaching days. Not this present squad. They slowly regained their footing after that early Ousmane Dembélé goal, finishing the first period firmly in the ascendancy.

After being left chasing shadows by Kvicha Kvaratshkelia as he set up the opening goal, Jurrien Timber started coming into the game. His counterpart on the other defensive flank, Myles Lewis-Skelly, also began regaining his confidence, getting the better of Achraf Hakimi on occasion. The teenager was one of Arsenal’s better players; shielding the ball, drawing fouls, and making driving runs that created some scoring chances.

Mikel Merino, previously spellbound by the rapid, tireless movement of Vitinha and João Neves, started making incisive runs of his own. Were it not for the intervention of said Neves, he would have given the Gunners a first-half equalizer.

 3. Is Donnaruma the World’s Best?

Gianluigi Donnarumma almost single-handedly got PSG through the second leg of their quarter-final tie against Aston Villa. Unfortunately for the Gunners, the Italian keeper replicated his Villa Park form at the Emirates. Shortly after the Merino chance, Saka found space in the PSG box, but he couldn’t beat Donnarumma. Admittedly, that save was one the keeper would have been expected to make. But Arsenal would have been level before half-time if he hadn’t denied Martinelli in a one-on-one situation.

10 minutes into the second half, Leandro Trossard was sent through on goal by Declan Rice after he’d made a surging run from deep. The Belgian must have started selecting a goal celebration in his mind only to see Donnarumma tip his shot away. Besides underlining his credentials as an elite shot-stopper, PSG’s number 1 played a big part in neutralizing Arsenal’s well-documented threat from set-pieces. He was quick and authoritative in claiming all crosses within his range. In this writer’s mind, only Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and AS Roma’s Miles Svilar have come close to Donnarumma this season.    

4. PSG’s Heartbeat

There was confidence and precision in everything Luis Enrique’s men did for most of the game. I don’t remember watching a Paris Saint-Germain team where practically every player was as comfortable on the ball. A big part of what was going right for PSG was down to the two Portuguese players in the engine room. Vitinha and João Neves are less talked about than their teammates in attack, but their contribution to last night’s result can’t be gainsaid.  

Possession stats in PSG’s favor reached 70% at one point in the first half. Against a team that is equally adept at keeping the ball, that spoke volumes about the level the Parisians are playing at. Neves and Vitinha’s constant movement and availability to receive the ball were key to this dominance. And when Rice, Merino, or Martin Ødegaard had the ball, they were quickly onto them with terrier-like ferocity.  

Their technical ability aside, Neves and Vitinha’s work rate must have club managers across Europe drooling with envy. Their performance in Arsenal vs PSG served to amplify what pundits have been whispering for most of the season. They’re the best midfield pairing on the continent now. 

5. Missing Top Guns

One of the post-match criticisms that has been leveled against Arsenal is that some of their key players went missing. We’re not talking about the suspended Thomas Partey or the recovering Gabriel Magalhães. We’re talking about the 11 Arteta fielded last night. Some, like Lewis-Skelly and Bukayo Saka, played out of their skins, striving to impose themselves on the game despite their opponents’ dominance. Others, not so.  

Club captain Ødegaard will admit that he didn’t have his most effective game. He largely failed to influence proceedings and couldn’t match the energy of the players in blue. Declan Rice had a first half to forget. His key contribution was his inability to keep tabs on Ousmane Démbélé when the Frenchman dropped deep to receive the ball. This failure cost his team the goal that’s given PSG a huge advantage to take into the second leg of the tie. 

Plenty To Ponder

Arteta has plenty to ponder if he and his boys are to make the Arsenal vs PSG return leg a more even contest. They will be going to Parc des Princes next week a goal down to face a PSG brimming with confidence. He will draw comfort from the fact that Partey will be well-rested and available. His boys also now realize the full measure of the task ahead of them. They will be fully aware that their last hope of silverware depends on them pulling off an upset in France.