Arsenal 0-1 PSG: Gunners frustrated as Ousmane Dembele's early goal hands Luis Enrique's side Champions League advantage
Report as Paris Saint-Germain secured a 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Emirates; Ousmane Dembele's early goal proved to be the difference between the two sides; the second leg takes place at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday May 7
By Oliver Yew, Senior Football Journalist Oliver Sew
"The first 10 or 15 minutes, we struggled to get momentum and to get the dominance we wanted. But, other than that, there wasn't anything apart from the goal. It's a very individual moment that matters at this level.
"After that, the team went better and better and it's disappointing to not get a draw at least."
PSG show class but tie not dead for Arsenal
Arteta asked the Arsenal fans to bring the noise, and they certainly did that, but PSG silenced the Emirates early on. Dembele started the move, charging forward before picking out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who breezed past Jurrien Timber with ease. The Georgian returned the ball to Dembele and, in acres of space, he found the net via the inside of the far post to finish a 26-pass move.
It was a nervy start from Arsenal and PSG did not need a second invitation to continue to put the home side under pressure. The visitors took full control of the game with Arsenal struggling for any sort of rhythm.
The chances kept coming for PSG as Arsenal's frustration grew. David Raya had to be alert to keep out Marquinhos' header before making a super save low down to his right to deny Desire Doue. The rebound came out to Fabian Ruiz, whose shot hit both posts with the ball staying out, although the offside flag eventually went up.
Luis Enrique's side struggled to keep their relentless pace up and it allowed Arsenal to get a foothold back into the contest. Jakub Kiwior's header was easily saved by Donnarumma, but the Gunners started to build some momentum.
Bukayo Saka's cross just evaded Martinelli at the far post before the Brazilian forward was brilliantly denied by Donnarumma after being played in behind the PSG defence.
The Arsenal fans made their feelings known towards the referee, and they were once again frustrated by the officials when Merino's 'equaliser' straight after the break was ruled out by VAR for offside.
However, Arsenal's momentum continued as Declan Rice powered forward on a trademark run. He played Trossard in on goal but the Belgium international was brilliantly denied by another giant hand from Donnarumma.
Luis Enrique strikes the first blow
The first leg of the tie between Arsenal and PSG ended with a victory for the Parisians, allowing them to approach the return leg with much more confidence. Dembélé's goal in the opening minutes was enough to tip the tie in their favor. The French striker, however, left the match injured.
In the second half, Arsenal persisted from the start in their search for an equalizer. In fact, Mikel Arteta's team managed to level the tie with a set piece from which Merino scored. However, the midfielder would not see the goal go up after being found offside.
With PSG looking to calm the ball, the Gunners relied more on drive and heart than on organized play to do damage. Against a very committed defense, the Londoners gradually succumbed as the minutes passed.
Trossard had the equalizer to level things up at the Emirates, but Luis Enrique's team could have also gone much further with some of their chances (especially one from Trossard).
Everything remains to be done until the finale takes place at the Parc des Princes in full swing. A match that will see one of the two finalists in Munich.
Arsenal used the slogan 'make it happen' before the game but they could not find a way through a stubborn PSG defence.
In the end, the Gunners were lucky to keep the deficit to one as substitute Bradley Barcola pulled a shot wide when through on goal, while Goncalo Ramos' late effort beat Raya but rattled off the crossbar in a huge let off for the Gunners.
Arteta: Disappointing to not get at least a draw.
"We're disappointed with the result. We put so much into the game.
"The first 10 or 15 minutes, we struggled to get momentum and to get the dominance we wanted because we are very efficient when we regain the ball and where we won it caused us a few issues.
"But, other than that, there wasn't anything apart from the goal. It's a very individual moment that matters at this level.
"After that, the team went better and better and it's disappointing to not get a draw at least."
Luis Enrique: We showed the team we are
PSG boss Luis Enrique to Amazon Prime:
"Emotions are doubled in this kind of match and it's difficult to analyse a match like that.
"Very difficult to play. It was a great atmosphere but we showed the kind of team we are.
"We try to play in our way and scored the first goal in the first two or three minutes paying the way we try to play.
"I'm happy, we suffered sometimes, and we could have scored the second goal, but there is still a second match and it's going to be very close."
Arsenal live to fight another day.
Arsenal travel to France for the return leg against PSG next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes.
Dembele stunned Arsenal when he swept home a low finish from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's delivery only four minutes into the semi-final first leg.
PSG dominated the early stages with a relentless attacking assault, which saw Arsenal keeper David Raya make a superb save from teenager Desire Doue.
The hosts survived without further damage to work their way into contention, and once again giant Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, as he was against Liverpool and Aston Villa earlier in the competition, was PSG's hero.
He saved brilliantly from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard either side of the break, while Arsenal saw Mikel Merino's header from a Declan Rice free-kick ruled out for offside.
The hosts whipped the Emirates crowd into a frenzy with a spectacular light and pyrotechnics show before kick-off, only to see the thunderous atmosphere punctured almost immediately by that priceless early goal.
Mikel Arteta's side appeared to be stunned and could have suffered further damage as PSG poured forward in wave after wave of attacks in the opening phase.
Arsenal never lacked for heart or effort, but PSG controlled Bukayo Saka superbly and when the chances came they ran into the same wall of defiance from keeper Donnarumma that broke Liverpool and Aston Villa's hearts.
The Italy goalkeeper was the hero against Liverpool when PSG won on penalties at Anfield, while three superb second-half saves kept Unai Emery's side at bay at Villa Park.
Martinelli should have scored when clean through, but Donnarumma's low save diving to his left from Trossard was high class.
And when the Gunners thought they had made the breakthrough early in the second half, Merino's smart header was ruled out for offside after a lengthy video assistant referee check, although the very deep starting position of Arsenal's players at the set-piece was running that risk.
Arteta will believe his side can turn the tie around after beating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, but PSG are an entirely different proposition and this now looks like a mammoth task for Arsenal reach the final in Munich.
PSG had chances to extend their advantage late on, but substitute Bradley Barcola shot wide and Goncalo Ramos hit the bar.
But before that, the Gunners host Bournemouth in the Premier League's late afternoon kick-off on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, while PSG head to Strasbourg in Ligue 1 earlier on the same day.
Paris St-Germain continue to cut a swathe through the Premier League's elite and will now be confident of crossing the next barrier into the final in Munich against either Inter Milan or Barcelona.
Arsenal followed Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa in falling victim to this outstanding side – who showed once more why they are so many people's favourites to claim their first Champions League crown.
In an environment of raw hostility, PSG simply stepped out and pinned Arsenal back with a magnificent opening salvo that brought Dembele's goal and could have brought more.
PSG boast the attacking riches of Dembele, Doue and Kvaratskhelia, and they all demonstrated their threat as they made the Gunners suffer early on.
And when Arsenal did break through, Donnarumma showed PSG are as strong at the back as they are at the front.
If coach Luis Enrique has a regret, it will be that they did not take advantage of several second-half openings to bolster their lead even further before the return leg in Paris next Wednesday.
This, however, was a result he would have happily settled for before kick-off and illustrates PSG's rapid improvement since they lost 2-0 at Arsenal in October in the new Champions League league table format.
The Champions League final takes place on Saturday May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, with the winner of this semi-final tie taking on either Barcelona or Inter Milan.