Arsenal need something special in Paris, says Arteta after home defeat

Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal side have to do something special next week to reach the Champions League final after a 1-0 defeat by Paris St Germain in the semifinal first leg at home on Tuesday.

Arsenal were outplayed in the opening 25 minutes after Ousmane Dembele struck early on for the slick visitors and while the hosts improved they were unable to reply.

Mikel Merino had a second-half header disallowed for offside and PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several fine stops as the French champions headed home with a slender advantage for next week's decider in the French capital.

“We're at half time. Half time and my message will be exactly the same as it was against Real Madrid after we won 3-0 at home,” Arteta, who spent a short spell on loan at PSG during his playing career, said.

“We have to go to Paris and win the game. We are more than capable of doing it. I saw two very good teams, but the margins are so small. They had efficiency in front of the goal.

“The keeper as well made a difference to see the result that we've seen tonight. You want to be in the Champions League final, you have to do something special, and we're going to have to do something special in Paris.”

Arsenal were playing in their first semifinal since losing to Manchester United in 2009 and are bidding to reach the final for only the second time, having lost in 2006 to Barcelona.

After their Premier League title challenge faded, failure to overturn the deficit next week will leave Arsenal still without a trophy since Arteta won the FA Cup in 2020.

Asked if the tie was still 50-50, Arteta said: “I don't know the percentage, but we have a lot of chances to be in the final. You have to do something special in the competition and the time to do it is going to be in Paris.”

PSG produced a performance with coach Luis Enrique's stamp all over it as they eked out a slender to take home.

The Qatari-owned French club have never won the Champions League despite huge spending down the years on the likes of Kylian Mbappe and South American duo Lionel Messi and Neymar.

With those having all moved on, the present team, while still possessing many outstanding individuals such as Dembele and Desire Doue, can roll its sleeves up and graft.

Dembele scored a superb team goal but after that it was PSG's resilience and calmness under Arsenal pressure that stood out, with Portuguese midfielder Vitinha leading by example with an outstanding display.

Even when Arsenal did penetrate PSG's rock-solid defence, their keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stood tall to protect his side's lead.

“I want to underline the work of 14 or 15 players tonight,” Spaniard Luis Enrique, who took charge in 2023, said. “Some shone more than others and we needed a titan in goal, but they all showed they had the mindset that was required.

“We saw wonderful work, both individually and as a team. Defensively, we had the attackers working hard, midfielders getting forward and everyone getting back to defend when needed. You can't play a team like Arsenal without that.”

The omens are now looking favourable for PSG who have grown into a formidable force since losing to Arsenal 2-0 in the league stage in October and needing a playoff to reach the last-16.

They had lost all six legs of their previous three two-legged Champions League semifinals and had never beaten Arsenal before in five previous attempts.

“Mission accomplished this evening,” Luis Enrique said. “But our sole objective is to win the second leg at home as well.

“With Arsenal, we cannot let our guard down and be complacent. This is a team who can completely rewrite history in one second and we'll be back to square one. They'll have nothing to lose and the second leg will be very tough.”

PSL took a big step towards reaching the final as Dembele's early goal sealed their win in a tense first leg at Emitrates Stadium.

Dembele fired home off the post in the fourth minute as PSG dominated the opening stages and Luis Enrique's side held firm to take a precious advantage back to the French capital.

Arsenal improved after a lacklustre start and had a Merino goal ruled out after the break while PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made several fine saves.

PSG should have given themselves a bigger cushion for the second leg but Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos both squandered gilt-edged chances late on.

The second leg is in Paris next Wednesday with the winners facing either Inter Milan or Barcelona in Munich. 

Reuters