Arsenal v PSG LIVE: Dembele goal leaves Gunners frustrated and requiring Champions League comeback
Arsenal 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain: The Gunners will require a comeback after a frustrating night at the Emirates
Ousmane Dembele’s early goal leaves Arsenal requiring a second-leg comeback if they are to keep their Champions League dream alive as Paris Saint-Germain earned a 1-0 win to take back to the French capital.
Arsenal were unable to find the equaliser despite long spells of pressure at the Emirates, with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma making two excellent saves to deny low shots from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino seeing his header from Declan Rice’s free-kick ruled out for offside.
Merino’s disallowed goal, which came after a three-minute VAR review, punctured some of Arsenal’s belief after they survived a blistering start from PSG, who struck inside four minutes when Dembele finished off a wonderful move with a low shot that snuck inside the post.
David Raya also made a strong save in the first half to deny Desire Doue’s low effort, and it could have been worse for Arsenal with Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos wasting chances on the break late on. Follow all the reaction from Arsenal v PSG below.
'We know how important Partey is'
Thomas Partey’s absence cost Arsenal tonight as the midfielder would have been more aware of the threat of Ousmane Dembele at the start of the game.
David Raya said: "We know how important Thomas Partey is but lucky enough we have good depth in midfield that everyone can step in.
“Declan [Rice] as the six showed a good game, he was good on the ball and everyone was really good today."
More from Raya
The Arsenal goalkeeper added: "We know they keep possession a lot and are good at that. They had that chance and put it in the net, this is football and we had chances to score but we didn't manage to.
"I've not seen [disallowed] goal back but we needed that lift and we showed from the 25th minute of the first half that we can win against any team. We have showed in the season we can win away games too so we'll go to Paris next week trying to win.”
David Raya on where Arsenal went wrong
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya spoke to Amazon Prime after the match and revealed where his team went wrong tonight.
He said: "They started quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15-20 minutes but after that we dominated most of the game, created the chances. Donnarumma made some good saves.
“It's only half-time, we take positives. They are a top team but credit to the players for the effort - we could've won the game.”
'PSG will be disappointed'
Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott said: “Arsenal are still in the game.
“If it was 2-0 then it would potentially kill the tie. PSG will be disappointed it's only one.”
'PSG could have won by two or three'
Amazon Prime pundit and former Manchester United forward, Wayne Rooney, gave his reaction after the match.
He said: “PSG could have won the game by two or three.
“I was a bit disappointed with how Arsenal played and the fans too. It was subdued.
“It was like they beat Real Madrid and would walk into the final.”
Advantage PSG
Their games are open and entertaining and they can concede - indeed, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City have all scored at the Parc des Princes this season. Yet Arsenal face a huge task, in part because of the difficulty keeping a clean sheet there.
Full-time! Arsenal 0-1 PSG
90+5 mins: Rice is on set piece duty again. This one comes over to the far post but the whistle goes as Donnarumma goes to ground after a nudge from White.
This has been a frustrating night for Arsenal and the full-time whistle goes.
PSG take the advantage back to France. They’ve been the better team tonight and the hard work is just beginning for the Gunners.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
90+3 mins: Martinelli gets down the left wing and wins Arsenal a corner.
One last chance to equalise and set up this tie?
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
90 mins: Five minutes to play at the end of this match. Ethan Nwaneri comes on to replace Martin Odegaard.
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