Julius OkorieLast English team standing ,Arsenal, will go into the battle of their life tonight in Paris against PSG in their quest to claim a slot in the finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Londoners lost narrowly at the Emirates in the first leg, crashing expectations of another magic after they had disarmed Real Madrid both at home and away in the quarter-finals.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelTheir 5-1 aggregate against Champions League holders, Real Madrid, took their rating to an all-time high and permutations were that visiting PSG who edged Aston Villa in the quarters on 5-4 aggregate will suffer the same fate at the Emirates.
But alas, the Ligue 1 giants ran away with a lone goal win at the Emirates, thus heading into tonight’s clash on a goal advantage.
The way it stands, the fight for both sides begin from the first blast of the whistle as this looks like a game where a slight mistake will be all that is needed to produce a final opponent against waiting and watching Inter Milan.
It will be a mistake for PSG to play defensive and a mistake for Arsenal to attack all the way without caution as that could spell doom.
This is one match, in which you don’t as a manager hope to have injury worries, but PSG will be hoping to have winger, Ousmane Dembele, who come off on the 70-minute mark against Arsenal, due to an apparent hamstring injury in shape.
The former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund attacker struck inside just four minutes at the Emirates Stadium, in the first leg , as Luis Enrique’s men came away with a priceless 1-0 first-leg lead.
Dembele’s early effort in North London was his 33rd goal of a phenomenal 2024-25 season in all competitions, while he boasts 45 direct involvements from as many appearances in the current campaign.
However, the France international had to come off on the 70-minute mark against Arsenal due to an apparent hamstring injury, albeit one that Enrique labelled “very minor” at the full-time whistle, but without guaranteeing his availability for the second leg.
PSG have been led by Dembélé in Champions League play. The striker is the team’s top scorer with eight goals, which is tied for the fifth highest in the competition’s scoring charts in 2024/2025, two of those having been the tone-setting first of the match.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Kai Havertz have been Arsenal’s most prolific players in the current Champions League campaign, netting five, four, and four times, respectively.
The hosts have scored in four straight Champions League contests this season. They haven’t been shut out since their round of 16 loss against Liverpool.
Hosts PSG have four wins, one draw, and two losses this Champions League season in seven contests at Parc des Princes.
With four wins, one draw, and just one loss on the road in the competition, Arsenal boast a fine record in away matches this campaign. The English side will be out to extend a seven-match away unbeaten streak.
This away record should serve as ginger for the Mike Arteta tutored side but loss of concentration must be avoided as there may be no time to blink in tonight’s tie.
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In their last six matches in all competitions, PSG have won two, drawn one and lost three. They scored eight and conceded 10 in that stretch, scoring first in four of the six contests.
A majority of their goals (six) came in the first half, while their opponents netted four times in the first 45 minutes.
Arsenal have won two, drawn two and lost two in their last six. They scored 10 and conceded seven over that period, netting first in five of the six.
They had five goals in the first half, while their opponents netted two times before the break. Whoever is able to dominate proceedings in the first 45 minutes of this match may end of singing the victory song.
After the thriller of Tuesday night, courtesy of eventual winners, Inter Milan and hard fighters Barcelona fans will expect the PSG against Arsenal to live up to its bidding and measure up to a typical Champions League semi-final clash.
Neither PSG nor Arsenal has a real advantage here, yes a lone goal advantage for PSG may be something to hold, but cancelling a lone goal advantage can be easy on a good day.
So it may be safe to say that both teams will play as though advantage does not exist anywhere, the fireworks are expected and it should never be or be seen to be in short supply.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
