Arsenal vs PSG dates and kick-off times confirmed for huge Champions League semi-final | OneFootball

French giants now stand between the Gunners and a place in Munich final on May 31

The dates and kick-off times for Arsenal’s huge two-legged Champions League semi-final showdown with Paris Saint-Germain have now been confirmed by UEFA.

That is after Arsenal dumped out holders and 15-time winners Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate after stunning back-to-back quarter-final victories, while PSG just held off a remarkable second-leg fightback from Aston Villa to advance 5-4 overall.

Mikel Arteta’s side will then travel to Paris for the return leg at the Parc des Princes eight days later on Wednesday, May 7. That match also kicks off at 8pm BST.

Arsenal and PSG have met once already this term, with stand-in captain Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz both on target in the dominant first half during a 2-0 statement home win in only their second match of the new Champions League league phase back on October 1.

Arsenal - third-place finishers in the league phase who then thrashed PSV Eindhoven in the last 16, scoring seven away from home - have never previously lost to PSG, who missed out on automatic qualification for the knockout stages and beat domestic rivals Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the play-off round after also scoring seven goals in one leg. They beat Liverpool on penalties in the last 16 at Anfield after trading 1-0 away victories.

The two sides drew twice during the old Champions League group stage in 2016/17, with Arsenal winning alongside another draw during their victorious European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign of 1993/94.

While Arsenal trail Liverpool by 13 points at the Premier League summit with their title hopes long since extinguished, PSG sealed their record-extending 13th Ligue 1 crown with six matches to spare earlier this month.

The Parisiens are aiming to finally end their long wait for Champions League glory in a new era for the club, having finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich in 2020 and been ousted in last season’s semis. Arsenal are in the semi-finals for the first time since losing to Manchester United in 2009, with their only previous final appearance ending in defeat by Barcelona in Paris in 2006.

Either Barcelona or Inter Milan will await the winners of Arsenal vs PSG in next month’s Champions League final in Germany, after the LaLiga leaders progressed to the last four for the first time in six years despite a second-leg defeat away at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.

Serie A table-toppers Inter, meanwhile, played out an eventful 2-2 second-leg draw with Harry Kane’s Bayern at the San Siro on Wednesday, advancing 4-3 on aggregate after a hard-fought 2-1 win in Bavaria.

Barcelona will host the Nerazzurri in the first leg at their temporary home at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday, April 30, before heading to the San Siro on Tuesday, May 6.