Champions League: Arteta Urges Arsenal To Deliver ‘Special’ Fightback Against PSG
Mikel Arteta has called on Arsenal to mount a "special" comeback against Paris Saint-Germain after Ousmane Dembele’s early goal sealed a 1-0 win for the French side in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.
Dembele netted just four minutes into the match at the Emirates Stadium, and despite chances for both sides, Arsenal couldn't find an equaliser in a tense encounter. PSG squandered two clear chances late in the game, with Goncalo Ramos hitting the crossbar and Bradley Barcola firing wide. Arsenal, too, threatened, but were denied by two outstanding saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma, stopping efforts from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.
Unlike their dominant first-leg performances against PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid in earlier rounds, the Gunners face a tougher challenge this time. They travel to Paris for the second leg on May 7, needing a top-tier display to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.
Despite the setback, Arteta remains optimistic, convinced Arsenal still have what it takes to overturn the deficit at the Parc des Princes and keep their Champions League dream alive.
“We are at half-time, and my message is exactly the same as it was after we beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final,” he said.
“We have to go to Paris and win the game, and we are more than capable of doing it.
“If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special, and we are going to have to do something special in Paris to be there. We still have a lot of chances to be in that final.”
In the first half, Arsenal were in danger of becoming the latest English team to be blown away by PSG.
But Arteta made an unspecified tactical switch that he said helped regain control against a PSG side who had already eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa, as well as beating Manchester City in the league phase.
– ‘The margins are so small’ –
“We had one issue. We corrected it after 15 minutes and we turned the game around. There was something very specific with the way we play that we had to get right,” he said.
“We had two one-on-ones with Donnarumma and if they go in, it is a different story.
“But he made the saves, and that’s the difference in the Champions League. The margins are so small, and it didn’t go our way.”
PSG are also bidding to win Europe’s elite club competition for the first time and this was a significant step towards that target.
While the tie is far from over, Luis Enrique’s team have the advantage and showed enough quality in possession to suggest they are capable of adding to their lead in Paris.
“There was an incredible atmosphere inside the stadium, it was deafening, but we got off to a wonderful start and the early goal gave us a boost of confidence,” Luis Enrique said.
“The game was littered with chances. It could have been better, it could have been worse. We had 10 or 15 minutes when the opponent could have snatched the game away from us but it didn’t happen.”
As a long-time mentor of Arteta’s and a firm admirer of his team, Luis Enrique has no intention of underestimating the north Londoners in the second leg.
“It is mission accomplished for this evening. But our objective is to win the second leg at home,” he said.
“With Arsenal we cannot let our guard down or be complacent because they can score quickly and we are back to square one.
“They are a team that can completely rewrite history in a second with a goal.
“Nothing is in the bag. We need to win when we are at home because Arsenal now have nothing to lose.”
4/30/2025, 9:44:58 AM
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