By Sam Love.
After an underwhelming result on Tuesday night at the Emirates stadium in North London, which saw the home team defeated 1-0 by the French giants, Arsenal will be looking to bounce back in the second leg in Paris on Wednesday 7th of May.
Arsenal who were on a high after impressively knocking out Real Madrid in the quarterfinals had a quick reality check when Ousmane Dembele emphatically put the visitors in front within four minutes. This set the tone for the rest of the match with PSG having the lion’s share of possession, and a world class performance from their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who made multiple match defining saves, most notably from Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Looking forward towards the second leg, Arsenal have everything to play for as the tie is most certainly not over yet. This is the same Arsenal team that dismantled Real Madrid 3-0, and who went to the Bernabeu and won 2-1. And with it only being a one goal deficit the Gunners are more than capable of mounting a comeback at the Parc Des Princes. Other good news for Arsenal is that Dembele, the goal scorer in the first leg and PSG’s top goal scorer this year, had to leave the field with a suspected hamstring injury and is doubtful to be playing in the reverse leg.
However, it will be an all but easy task for the North London club in Paris as PSG have shown their quality time and time again in this year’s knockout stages with impressive victories over Liverpool and Aston Villa. They’ve also been one of this year’s Champions League’s best teams to watch, lighting up the competition with their electric style and world class players all over the pitch, most notably their forward players.
On the upside for the Gunners, Thomas Partey will be available in the midfield for the second leg, having missed their home game due to suspension. This will be a huge boost for Mikel Arteta’s side as it was a clear mismatch in the midfield in the first leg, with Joao Neves being one of the standout players on the pitch for PSG. Partey will bring a more composed and ball winning element to the game for Arsenal which will gain them more possession of the ball, and that is what they will need if they are going to restrict the number of chances PSG will create.
I predict that PSG will keep a similar tactical style for the second leg, with Goncalo Ramos possibly coming into the starting line-up with the injury to Dembele. Giving them more of a focal point up front but keeping the electric pace their wingers attack with. Arsenal will have to bring Partey into the starting lineup to play alongside Declan Rice in midfield to try and control the game and keep the ball in their possession, forcing more set pieces to fashion goalscoring opportunities.
