Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain‘s Champions League semi-final first leg will be “won and lost” in one area in particular, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
The Gunners and Les Parisiens reunite on Tuesday evening in a blockbuster repeat of their league-phase showdown in October, which ended 2-0 to Mikel Arteta‘s men, but the consensus is that PSG have become a different beast since then.
Luis Enrique‘s men have knocked out Liverpool and Aston Villa in quick succession and have been hailed for their sense of togetherness and team unity, which was not always the case during the days of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Rampaging full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes have earned plaudits in particular, and Watts believes that the wide areas will be critical when it comes to determining a possible victor on Tuesday.
“I think the flanks are where this game is going to be won and lost,” Watts said. “Midfield is very, very important. If Arsenal can dominate that physically like they did in October, they’re going to be on the front foot. But I look at the space that both teams have down the flank and the weapons that they have – whoever comes out on top in those one on one battles is going to be hugely important.
“Hakimi and Mendes, excellent. We know how much of a threat Hakimi is, but Mendes as well, what he did against [Mohamed] Salah. He was very, very good that night. And then you look at PSG’s threat going forward; Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, whether it’s him or Barcola, there’s so much pace and potency.
“But in Arsenal, they’ve got Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly. You don’t really get better one on one fullbacks when it comes to winning their personal battles. As much as they are so threatening out wide, whether it be the full-backs on the overlap or the attackers, Arsenal got two full-backs who are so good at dealing with that.
How Arsenal can take “an awful lot of threat” away from PSG
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“Jurrien Timber against Vinicius Junior was always going to be such a key battle. Timber won it by an absolute distance. He was so good in both of those legs, as was Lewis-Skelly. And that nullified Real Madrid’s attack to the point when they were just throwing crosses into the box because they didn’t want to try to get past them anymore.
“If Arsenal can do that again, that just takes an awful lot of threat away from them. And then Arsenal can really concentrate on doing damage themselves.”
PSG’s astonishing second half of the 2024-25 season saw Enrique’s men wrap up the Ligue 1 title with six games to spare, but Ls Parisiens have been off the boil since then, winning just one of their last four matches in all competitions.
Enrique’s men were aiming to become the first Ligue 1 team to ever go through a domestic season unbeaten, but their most recent encounter ended in a shock home defeat to Nice, potentially harming their confidence ahead of Tuesday’s mouthwatering match.
However, there is the age-old cliche that form goes out of the window in knockout matches with so much at stake, so while Watts believes that Arsenal are facing PSG at a good time, “all bets are off” as far as he is concerned.
“I’d prefer to be facing them now rather than when they’re in the height of their best form,” he added. “They’ve certainly hit a little bit of a sticky patch. I think you have to caveat out the fact that the league title was done and dusted and that does take the edge off things.
Why “all bets are off” in Arsenal-PSG Champions League tie
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“They’ve had their eyes on this game for the last few weeks, just like Arsenal. Arsenal’s form isn’t great either, so PSG could be saying exactly the same thing. All bets are off. I don’t think league form and what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks is going to play any factor.
“It’s just going to be about when the bell rings, who’s on it from the start. I don’t pay too much attention to what the last couple of weeks has shown us when it comes to league form.”
Arsenal received a double injury boost in Monday’s final training session, as Mikel Merino and Ben White were both involved after knocks kept them out of the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League last week.
Merino’s availability is likely to be particularly critical given that neither Thomas Partey nor Jorginho will be involved; the former is serving a European suspension while Jorginho could have played his last game for Arsenal due to a chest injury.
Should Merino be passed fit, the expectation is that he will line up in the engine room with Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, who would vacate the left eight role for the Spaniard and drop into the number six slot usually filled by Partey.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, Oleksandr Zinchenko and White are emergency alternatives in midfield, but with Merino in the centre of the park, Watts is optimistic that Arteta’s men can physically dominate the Parisiens engine room of Joao Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz again.
“It has to be Rice, Merino, Odegaard. I’d be stunned if that’s not the lineup,” he added. “Having Merino back fit was so, so important. I was so relieved to see him in training. Again, I go back to that game in October and how Arsenal physically dominated PSG; it’s a different midfield setup tonight, but Arsenal were so strong in that midfield area.
Watts talks up Arsenal “muscle memory” from PSG October victory
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“I listened to Vitinha’s press conference yesterday, he got a bit angry, bristling at the questions about whether physically they’re going to be strong enough. But they’re clearly thinking about that, they will remember what happened back in October. So I would still go with a more physically dominant midfield; Rice at the six, have Merino as the eight.
“Trossard’s hot right now up front, and when he’s hot, he’s hot. When he’s not, he can be the most frustrating footballer in the world where you think you’re so good, yet you’re doing ridiculously bad things. But right now he’s in a really good run of form. That’s really fortunate for Arsenal.
“Have him as a striker, have Merino as the eight, let him win his duels, which we know he’s so good at. Rice can do the same. If Arsenal can just really get on top, frustrate and deny space for PSG and those mercurial players they have in that midfield, it could be a really, really good night for Arsenal.
“I always go back to that game in October. I know PSG are trying to pretend it doesn’t mean anything, but I think it does. As much as they’re different now, it’s that muscle memory that both sets of players have. Arsenal know they can beat them. Arsenal know they can be physically too strong for them. PSG know that as well.”
Arsenal’s men’s team are seeking their first Champions League final appearance in 19 years after the women’s team ended an 18-year exile from the showpiece match, pulling off a magnificent comeback against Lyon in Sunday’s semi-final second leg.
Renee Slegers‘s side travelled to France with a mountain to climb after losing 2-1 at the Emirates, but the Gunners defied the odds with a remarkable 4-1 second-leg triumph to earn a daunting final date with defending champions Barcelona in Lisbon on May 24.
No club has ever seen both their men’s and women’s teams win the Champions League in one season, and only one side’s men’s and women’s teams have reached the final in the same campaign – Chelsea in 2020-21.
Are Arsenal on course for their greatest season in history?
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That year, the Blues’ men’s team edged out Manchester City while Emma Hayes‘s side were slain by Barcelona, but if the Arsenal men and women both conquer the continent, Watts would find it difficult to argue that the 2024-25 season would be the greatest in the club’s history.
“It’d be up there, wouldn’t it? Something that no one’s ever done before,” Watts concluded. “What the women did on Sunday was absolutely remarkable. It was such an impressive result to go to the might of Lyon, trailing after the first leg, and to turn around and to win it so comfortably, it was just a fabulous, fabulous result.
“The men should be looking at it as a real inspiration. It tells a story that we need to remember today is only the first game. Whatever happens, the tie is still going to be alive. You’ve got to remember that it’s a 180 minute tie; whatever happens, you can overturn anything.
“I’m so delighted for the women as well. You see the images afterwards, Leah Williamson, what it meant to her. Would it be the most successful season in the club’s history? It’s hard pushed to say no, to be honest. If both teams win the Champions League, it’s hard, it’s hard to say no.
“Obviously the league’s been a disappointment. Arsenal haven’t been good enough. But there’s still a historic season to be achieved. If Arsenal win the Champions League, in 30 years time, no one’s going to say, ‘oh, they finished second to Liverpool’. All that’s going to be put up outside the stadium is Arsenal with a Champions League trophy. It’s the chance to write your name into history.”
While Arsenal Women have experienced one slice of European stardom – winning the 2006-07 Champions League when it was known as the UEFA Women’s Cup – the Gunners’ men’s squad are still searching for that elusive first continental title, as are PSG.
Tuesday’s competitors experienced final heartbreak 14 years apart – Arsenal to Barcelona in 2006 and PSG to Bayern Munich in 2020 – but in terms of both clubs’ semi-final history, the record books do not favour the French side.
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