Risers & Fallers: PSG (h)

Three Risers and five Fallers from a bad first half of Arsenal's Champions League semifinal tie.

Arsenal have conceded first in 16 matches in all competitions this season. Of those 16 situations in which the Gunners fell behind, they turned it around and won the game. It should be said, Mikel Arteta’s men achieved those flips of the scoreline at home to a historically awful Southampton, at home to a hot-and-cold Crystal Palace, away at Brentford, at home to a Spurs side that would have been relegated in any other Premier League season, and away to Girona. Three of those 16 matches ended as draws. And the other half saw Arsenal unable to overcome the deficit.

Tuesday’s home leg against Paris Saint-Germain turned out to be the latest of those losses. In the fourth minute of the match, Ousmane Dembele beautifully latched onto a pass to the top of Arsenal’s penalty area from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to smack home a shot off the post. From there began a twenty-minute opening spell to the match in which PSG thoroughly dominated their hosts. Another referee would have called a penalty for Jurrien Timber’s brief hold on Kvaratskhelia in the box during that onslaught and it would have been understandable. Frankly, Arsenal were fortunate to escape that period only a goal down.

After that shaky beginning period, the Gunners seemed to find their footing. While they managed fewer total shots than the visitors did, Arsenal finished with a higher xG, more shots on goal, and more big chances created. The stats will tell you that the match was rather even, with the English side amassing 48% of possession and 327 passes compared to PSG’s 372.

And Arsenal put PSG in some very scary situations. A clever ball by Myles Lewis-Skelly put Gabriel Martinelli one-on-one with Gianluigi Donnarumma, and if the Brazilian had set himself a little better he could have buried that chance. A last-ditch Joao Neves tackle was all that prevented Mikel Merino from capitalizing on a loose ball right in front of PSG’s goal, while the offside flag was required to save the French side’s bacon when the Spaniard headed home a set piece early in the second half. Leandro Trossard was played in on goal by Declan Rice after a tremendous gallop with the ball up the pitch, but the Belgian couldn’t beat Donnarumma either.

Ultimately, this result came down to one thing, the same thing that has eluded Arsenal in big matches with fine margins, and the same thing that has prevented them from scamming wins in more of those 16 matches they fell behind in this season: efficiency in the opposition’s box. PSG don’t have much more of it than Arsenal do — near the end of the match, both Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos missed huge chances to add to their side’s lead. But they made that extra bit more ruthlessness in front of goal count with Dembele’s goal.

It’s hard not to miss Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in moments like these — yes, they are both far from clinical themselves, but what they lack in finishing, they make up for in chance generation through their skill and willingness to work immensely hard off the ball. It’s hard not to rue dawdling in the January transfer window and bidding two-thirds of Aston Villa’s £60 million asking price for Ollie Watkins. It’s hard not to be furious that Arsenal didn’t do something better last summer than bringing in a Raheem Sterling in the twilight of his career. Any of those might be the difference between Tuesday’s 1-0 loss and a strong lead to take to Paris.

But the past is the past. What Arsenal can change right now is the future. And despite how down we all may feel about the first leg’s result, it’s important to remember two things: firstly, this is the Champions League semifinals. The pushovers have all been sent home; any team you face at this stage is an extremely formidable opponent that can beat you on their day. And secondly, once the Gunners started adapting to their opponent, they found ways to hurt them. Those ways will still be there in the return leg.

So yes, Arsenal have given themselves a tall task to complete at the Parc des Princes. They will need to take their play up a level and hope PSG can’t produce any more moments like Dembele’s goal. But they’ve gone to the Bernabeu and won. They have stifled the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham (and Vinicius Jr., if you don’t count the goal the Gunners gifted him). They’re still capable of reaching the Champions League final. But they will have to do much better than their display on Tuesday.

Now onto the Risers and Fallers.

Risers

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Another gargantuan opponent, another performance that was better than those of most of his teammates. What do you say about Lewis-Skelly at this point? No matchup phases him. The young Englishman had PSG scrambling when he carried the ball, drawing the most fouls of any player in the match. But the visitors failed to put him off, because he completed 100% of his passes on the day, including the aforementioned ball that sliced through PSG’s back line and put Martinelli in on goal. Unlucky to come away with an assist, Lewis-Skelly also was excellent defensively. He won seven of his nine duels and only committed one foul, nullifying both Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue when they rotated over to his side. It was a tremendous performance from the Hale End product, as is usual these days. What a player.

Mikel Merino

Back in an eight role because of Thomas Partey’s yellow card at the Bernabeu, Merino excelled after a rocky opening period. Defensively, the Spaniard was quite handy. He made two interceptions, five defensive actions, and six recoveries. He also repeatedly won second balls in midfield and periodically dropped into a double pivot next to Declan Rice when PSG entered Arsenal’s third. Going forward, Merino was immensely unlucky not to come away with something. A perfect last-ditch tackle by Joao Neves denied him a goal, and his header past Donnarumma off a set piece was unfortunately rule offside. And his willingness to engage in first-touch passing helped Arsenal play with some speed in and around PSG’s penalty area. I’d prefer him at center forward, but it was a good showing in midfield when his team needed him there.

Declan Rice

Let’s be clear — this was far from a perfect performance from Rice. For the goal, I think the Englishman was fooled somewhat by Kvaratskhelia, letting himself get sucked in toward the flank to help Jurrien Timber defend against the Georgian and allowing Dembele to take up an unmarked shooting position at the top of the Gunners’ box. After that though, he was an absolute powerhouse. From the six position he did a great job of pulling the strings for Arsenal, playing some great line-breakers and switches throughout the match. He also was good from set pieces — a particularly great moment was his ball for Merino’s chalked-off equalizer. He also demonstrated his elite carrying ability, at one point late in the match bursting forward from his own third toward PSG’s third before playing a ball that put Trossard in on goal. In defense, he was pretty solid as well; Rice finished with seven of nine duels won, two interceptions, seven defensive actions, six recoveries, and three of his five tackles successful. After some culpability for the visitors’ goal, Rice didn’t hide and stepped up for the rest of the match.

Fallers

Martin Odegaard

I don’t know how many times I can keep putting him here. Odegaard just isn’t showing any signs of improvement. It can’t all be his ankle, right? In the team’s first Champions League semifinal tie in 16 years, the Arsenal captain finished with 0.08 expected assists, no successful crosses from three attempted, no shots on target, no shots attempted, only one successful dribble from six attempted, 14 losses of possession, and six of eight duels lost. He also flubbed multiple final actions when the Gunners needed a goal and was pretty much a non-factor for the entirety of the game. Perhaps the best illustration of his performance is that Ethan Nwaneri, who replaced Odegaard after 90 minutes, immediately provided a spark in the final third that we hadn’t seen when the Norwegian was on the pitch. I think it’s time to sound the alarm on the skipper — whether it’s residual injury struggles or just plain bad form, I think the manager might need to figure out a way to take him out of the firing line soon.

Leandro Trossard

With Merino being required to drop into midfield, Trossard was given another shot as a false nine. And to put it lightly, he disappointed. He failed to serve as a focal point, forcing David Raya to aim out wide whenever he had to go long. With his back to goal he was weak, getting outmuscled by PSG’s defenders time and time again when forced to hold the ball up. The Belgian also was sloppy on the ball, missing a third of passes over the course of the match. But perhaps the most frustrating part of his night was his squandering of the excellent chance Rice set up for him. I don’t really understand why he took the shot on his left foot; Marquinhos wasn’t going to catch up to him before he pulled the trigger either way, and Trossard had a better shooting angle on his right. I just think taking the shot on his other foot gave Donnarumma enough of a chance to make the save. In any event, Trossard didn’t do enough to justify his selection down the middle. Merino will almost certainly be back up top in Paris.

Jurrien Timber

Of all the Arsenal players who struggled in the opening quarter of the match, Timber probably struggled the most. Kvaratskhelia had the beating of him repeatedly, forcing the Dutchman into several ill-advised fouls. His aggressive approach to his man didn’t work, and he was extremely fortunate not to give away a penalty when he momentarily held the Georgian in the box. How he avoided a booking on Tuesday could be the eighth wonder of the world. Timber grew into the game and locked down Doue when the Frenchman swapped flanks, but he appeared to pick up an injury near the end of the match. Hopefully he’ll be fine, but he may have met his match in the PSG no. 7.

Thomas Partey

Arsenal needed Partey against PSG. And he very easily could have been available on Tuesday to help his team. But instead the Ghanaian needlessly involved himself in a confrontation with Antonio Rudiger at the Santiago Bernabeu, earning a yellow card that resulted in his suspension for the home leg against PSG. It was an utterly boneheaded decision that may prove to be costly for the Gunners. Watching the team struggle in the early stages and fail to control the game in the manner they would have liked, Partey must have found himself wondering if his skirmish with the Real Madrid defender was worth it. And watching Partey in the stands when he should have been on the pitch, the likes of Andrea Berta and Josh Kroenke must have found themselves wondering if extending the midfielder would truly be worth it.

The Emirates Stadium atmosphere

As a fan stranded on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, I try not to critique the match-going supporters much. But the vibes at the Emirates were just terrible for most of the match. To some extent, I get it. Arsenal — after rejecting fan-made designs — unveiled the most basic, FIFA 2019 Career Mode-esque tifo possible. To copy and paste the cannon crest instead of designing a properly intimidating banner is a pretty garden-variety example of corporate laziness. And yes, Dembele scoring so early in the match understandably took the wind out of Gooners’ sails. But this was a Champions League semifinal, the club’s first in over a decade and a half. To be able to hear a pin drop in the stadium to the point where players desperately urged fans to make some noise several times, to see supporters heading for the exits before fulltime, was honestly a little disgraceful. So many of us all around the world would be thrilled to bits to have been able to attend Tuesday’s game, to sing until our voices were hoarse, to stay inside the Emirates until stadium staff asked us to leave. Sometimes it feels like local Arsenal fans take it for granted.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following me on Twitter @Shamsdale or on Bluesky @shamsdale.bsky.social. You can also listen to me on “Not That Kind Of Gooner: An Arsenal Podcast”, which you can follow on Twitter at @NotThatGooner and on Bluesky @notthatgooner.bsky.social.