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The “only way” Arsenal will be able to progress to the Champions League final at Paris Saint-Germain‘s expense will be by scoring first on Wednesday evening, Gunners expert Charles Watts feels.
Mikel Arteta‘s men will soon take in the surroundings of the Parc des Princes for a blockbuster semi-final second leg, needing to right the wrongs of their 1-0 defeat from last week’s opening encounter at the Emirates.
Only two teams have ever reached the UCL final after losing the first leg of the semi-final at home, though, while Arsenal have lost all of their previous European two-legged ties when suffering defeat in the first match.
However, the Gunners have won each of their last four away games in Europe and could win five on the spin for the first time ever, but even that may not be enough if PSG then prevail from the penalty spot, which Watts would expect to be the case.
Speaking to Sports Mole, the Arsenal journalist talked up the importance of Mikel Arteta’s men avoiding a repeat of their EFL Cup semi-final loss to Newcastle United, saying: “I look at the squad and think the only way they’re going to win this game is by scoring first and getting a foothold in it.
“If they go behind, would I back them to score twice, then all that does then is force extra time, and I don’t think this squad is capable of going 120 minutes. There’s too many holes. The subs they [PSG] brought on, how much stronger that made them in the last 20 minutes and what Arsenal couldn’t do. Even if you take it to penalties, with [Gianluigi] Donnarumma I wouldn’t back Arsenal’s chances.
“The only way” Arsenal will beat PSG
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“Their best chance, the only way of winning this game is not to concede or certainly not concede first. The first half hour is going to be so important. We talk about how good PSG were at the Emirates in that opening half an hour, what Arsenal are going to have to deal with tomorrow night is going to be really really difficult.
“They [PSG] are going to fly out the blocks. They start so quickly, it’s just what they do. You’ve just got to stay in that game, don’t do what you did up at St James’ Park in the [EFL Cup] semi-final and find yourself 1-0 down before the half hour mark.
“They’ve got to be switched on, deal with the atmosphere, deal with a fast start and just play themselves into the game. If they can do that, get to 0-0 at half time, you’re well in it for the second half.”
Arsenal welcomed PSG to the Emirates last week with fond memories of their 2-0 triumph over Les Parisiens from the group stage, but Luis Enrique‘s men have transformed into a different beast since then and proved as such.
Ousmane Dembele‘s fourth-minute goal settled the North London battle in Les Parisiens’ favour, and Arteta’s men struggled for ingenuity all evening long, thanks in no small part to a highly ineffective Martin Odegaard display.
Mikel Merino‘s disallowed header was the closest the Gunners came, although Gianluigi Donnarumma made five saves to keep Arteta’s men at bay too, as PSG silenced the formerly boisterous Emirates Stadium.
Wayne Rooney was critical of Arsenal’s “subdued” fans, while Gabriel Agbonlahor labelled their tifo of their signature gun “embarrassing”, but Watts does not agree with the notion that the pre-game hype put too much pressure onto the players’ shoulders.
Were Arsenal’s players put under too much pressure in first leg?
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“I just think the players didn’t deliver,” he added. “They started badly, simple as that. To be fair, I just thought PSG were magnificent for the first half hour. It was the the perfect way to take the sting out of a hostile crowd.
“They got themselves an early goal with their first attack and then for the next 25 minutes they barely gave Arsenal a kick. All of that pre-match hype all of that atmosphere had just gone. It was like someone had literally burst a balloon.
“But I don’t look at Arsenal’s performance in that opening half hour and think it was down to the atmosphere. It’s what you want; it’s a Champions League semi-final. The Paris Saint-Germain press conference, Hakimi was calling on their fans to be as loud as possible, make it as hostile as possible.
“You want your crowd to be that 12th man, so I don’t think it’s anything like that. I just think Arsenal weren’t great early on, but PSG were brilliant. The best team I’ve seen in that opening 25 minutes, they were absolutely fantastic.
“After that I thought Arsenal settled into it a little bit and it became a much more even game, but that opening 25 minutes was very very special from PSG.”
Arsenal will have Thomas Partey back in the ranks for Thursday’s second leg after the Ghanaian midfielder missed the first leg due to suspension, and Arteta also received a triple fitness boost in Tuesday’s final training session.
Press play on the video above to listen to the full preview of Arsenal”s clash with PSG.
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