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.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
86 mins: Crossbar!
PSG play over the top and get Goncalo Ramos in behind the lines.
He’s in a similar position to Barcola moments earlier and toe pokes a shot at goal.
It rattles the crossbar and bounces back into play. Danergous times for Arsenal.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
83 mins: Chance!
Barcola should make it 2-0. He makes a superb run off the ball and is fed into the box.
He collects it, shifts away from the nearest defender then curls his effort wide of the far post.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
80 mins: Jurrien Timber has picked up a knock and tries to run it off.
He’s still got some discomfort though and Mikel Arteta replaces him with Ben White.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
77 mins: Goncalo Ramos is on for PSG as well now. Desire Doue is the man he’s replaced.
The scoreline is only 0-1 so it’s not a disaster for Arsenal but they could do with a goal to make themselves feel better after a tough match thus far.
Saka shoots from the right side and forces another stop out of Donnarumma but there was an offside in the build up.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
74 mins: Saka tries to force his way into the box from the left but is taken down, legally, by Nuno Mendes who comes out of the challenge with the ball.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
70 mins: It's become a much more traditional European tie now, much more tactical. PSG haven't actually created an opening for a while, as Arsenal have penned them back. That huge chance for Trossard feels like it could be instructive for this whole tie. That is where PSG's vulnerability is, that open space behind Hakimi. Marquinhos struggles to cover it.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
69 mins: Luis Enrique is the first manager to look to the bench.
Ousmane Dembele goes off, to good cheers from the PSG fans, and Bradley Barcola comes on instead.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
66 mins: David Raya has come out of his penalty are on a number of occasions to try and force Arsenal higher up the pitch.
They’ve dipped in tempo here and Mikel Arteta may want to think about making some changes to freshen things up.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
63 mins: Another attempted pass through the lines to Dembele goes wide and is cleaned up by Raya.
The visitors are clicking again and Arsenal need to be wary of overcommitting in search of the equaliser.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
59 mins: PSG have weathered a small Arsenal storm at the start of this half.
They’re trying to extend their lead as well as Dembele slips Hakimi into the box.
He’s got the goalkeeper to beat but William Saliba lunges across and times his tackle to perfection.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments