Arsenal fail to rise to the occasion against PSG in Champions League semi-final first leg defeat

Arsenal's stage was set to deliver a famous night at the Emirates. The reality was far from it in the end, as Mikel Arteta's side came up short against Paris Saint-Germain with a deflating performance.

The nature of their win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals filled Arsenal with hope and confidence that, after their season threatened to fizzle out, they had found another gear. History had already been made and they wanted more.

The Emirates was a cauldron of noise in the build-up to the club's first Champions League semi-final for 16 years and the fans were as noisy as this stadium has known them. Ousmane Dembele's fourth-minute strike cut right through all of that.

Arsenal's fans recovered after that brief stunned silence but left the stadium wanting more. Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli had their chances, and there was that save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Arsenal didn't do enough in the end.

Mikel Arteta's reign at Arsenal, however impressive the progress, is at risk of becoming one characterised by near misses. Premier League runners-up three years running, and now their Champions League run that promised so much is at risk of going out with a whimper.

Arteta and David Raya were quick to remind us of that Arsenal performance in the Bernabeu after the game as evidence this team is more than capable of pulling off a big performance away in Europe.

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There is no doubt that playing at Real Madrid, with the club's history and status in the Champions League, poses a unique challenge, one which Arsenal rose to with aplomb. This feels quite different though.

Arsenal were playing against a quite underwhelming Real Madrid team with more stars than they know what to do with. PSG are playing on a whole different level and surely pose a far greater challenge.

If Arsenal are to deliver the history they crave, and return to the Champions League final for the first time since 2006, then, as Arteta said after the game, they will have to do something rather special.

Arsenal caught cold by fast-starters PSG

PSG made 26 passes in the lead-up to Dembele's goal four minutes in. It felt as if Arsenal hadn't even touched the ball.

Arsenal were chasing shadows for the first 20 minutes. PSG came flying out of the traps and almost always felt like they had their hosts outnumbered. It is rare to see Arsenal so outplayed and outworked, especially at home.

There were parallels to PSG's quarter-final second leg at Villa Park a few weeks ago. They lost that game but went through on aggregate thanks to two goals scored in the first 27 minutes. Arsenal, like Villa, were blown away early on by PSG.

Luis Enrique clearly wants his team to blitz their opponent from the off to catch them cold. The pace they play at in those moments is, of course, unsustainable over 90 minutes, as shown at Villa, who came back to win 3-2 but just fell short of levelling the tie.

This match followed a similar pattern. Arsenal were just unable to make their dominance count like Villa.

Perhaps the misfortune of playing the first leg at home was a factor. When Villa roared back into the game against PSG, they did so with the knowledge that they had nothing to lose, while Arsenal performed as if they had the handbrake on at times.

Comparing the dominance PSG had over Villa at home compared to the return leg, it doesn't paint an encouraging picture for Arsenal in the return leg.

Partey's return can boost Arsenal and unleash Rice

One reason for optimism in the second leg for Arsenal will be the return of Thomas Partey.

The midfielder was suspended for the defeat at the Emirates after a needless yellow card in the dying stages at the Bernabeu, and his absence was felt immediately against PSG.

For PSG's goal, Dembele drove straight through the area of the pitch Partey so frequently occupies, and Arsenal were punished. It all felt too easy.

Partey certainly makes Arsenal a better team, but he also allows Declan Rice to return to his more natural box-to-box role. It was here that Rice asserted his authority over Real Madrid. His impact on the game was greatly diminished against PSG.

There were moments when he threatened to show his quality, but he was largely restricted. The combination of Partey and Rice might just be what Arsenal need to turn this around.

What happened to Arsenal's set-pieces?

For a moment, it seemed Arsenal had taken advantage of their set-piece superiority over PSG when Mikel Merino headed in from Declan Rice's second-half free-kick until VAR stepped in to rule the midfielder offside.

It was one of the rare occasions Arsenal put in a good delivery on Tuesday night, which came as a surprise given how much of the build-up to this semi-final focused on PSG's vulnerability in such scenarios.

In Ligue 1, nearly a third of PSG's conceded goals have come from set-pieces, a greater proportion than any other side in France. Neither are they a very tall side. Yet, Arsenal couldn't muster up anything of note to trouble them in the biggest game of their season.

Arsenal's rate of return from such scenarios has notably dropped off in 2025, which will come as painful timing for Arteta, whose side scored 12 set-piece goals in the first 21 games of the Premier League season.

Nicolas Jover, the mastermind behind Arsenal's impressive set-piece record, had to be pulled back by Arteta in stoppage time for going too far outside the team's technical area. Frustrations, it seemed, were spilling over.

PSG continue their English dominance

PSG have now beaten four Premier League teams - Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal - in this season's Champions League campaign.

Rewind to October, when they lost at the Emirates, and such a reality would have hardly been imaginable. Luis Enrique's team would not recognise themselves now. So much has changed since then for the Parisians.

Ousmane Dembele, the difference-maker this time around, was left out for behavioural reasons and yet to discover the false nine position that has unleashed the best scoring season of his career.

There was a mettle on show from PSG on their return to the Emirates that was a far cry from the lightweight team that were bullied and beaten 2-0 by Arsenal.

Arteta was keen to highlight that win over PSG as a source of confidence in the build-up, while Luis Enrique considered it meaningless given how much time had passed. The PSG boss was proven right on that count.

His team are peaking at the right time as they look to make history of their own. PSG, of course, have never won this competition, either.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Arsenal fail to rise to the occasion against PSG in Champions League semi-final first leg defeat