AFCON 2025
Arsenal suffered a setback in their race to reach the final of the Champions League as they lost the first leg of the semi-final to PSG.
The Gunners suffered a narrow loss to PSG at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday courtesy of an early goal from Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele, the former Barcelona winger put the French Champions ahead after four minutes of action with a brilliant shot down the bottom corner of goal.
Arsenal’s chased the game for the reminder of the match as the Gianluigui Donnarumma made a couple of saves to keep his side in the game.
The Italian shotsttopper had a fantastic performance as he helped PSG secure an important win ahead of the second leg.
Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta in reaction to the defeat admitted the team struggled in the opening minutes and had to adjust later on the game.
“It took us 10 minutes after the goalThere were pressure problems and we had to adjust things and be better. If you want to be in the final you have to do something exceptional. It’s nice to see the team as it competes.”
Thierry Henry said PSG were superior to Arsenal on the night. He added that his former team need to do better to stand a chance of beating PSG.
“PSG were far superior, for me, in this game. A lot needs to be changed for Arsenal to make sure that they can beat PSG. It’s going to be a different ball game. There is another tie, you never know what’s going to happen.”
William Saliba told the media that they were completely outplayed in the opening quarter of the match. He also agreed that Arsenal must show character ahead of the second leg in Paris.
“We’re a bit disappointed to lose the 1st game, to concede a goal this early. We should have done better. We suffered a lot in the first 20 minutes. They ate us. It’s still 1-0. We’ll need to show our character in the 2nd leg.”
Man of the Match, Vitinha praised the efforts of his teammates but says the tie is not over.
“A good statement. We produced a great game, a great collective performance. We didn’t have the ball as much as usual. We had to adapt to what the game requires. It’s not over. We need to do another great game in Paris.”
