Arsenal with it all to do in Paris as PSG impress | OneFootball

Arsenal’s hopes of a first Champions League final appearance in nearly two decades remain alive but face a significant test in Paris after falling 1–0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their semi-final.

A third-minute strike from Ousmane Dembélé was enough to hand the French champions the advantage.

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Mikel Arteta remains firm in his belief that Arsenal can overturn a narrow 1-0 deficit in Paris and reach the Champions League final, despite falling short in the first leg of their semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates.

An early strike from Ousmane Dembélé separated the sides on the night, and although Arsenal created several promising opportunities, most notably for Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, they found Gianluigi Donnarumma in superb form.

A headed equaliser from Mikel Merino was also chalked off by VAR.

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

“It’s just half-time, I said exactly the same message after beating Real Madrid 3–0 at home,” said Arteta. “We go to Paris to win, and I fully believe that we can do it.”

The result leaves Arsenal needing a win at the Parc des Princes to reach only their second-ever European Cup final. Arteta, though, believes the performance, particularly after a difficult start, gives reason for optimism.

“We’re disappointed with the result because I think we merited much more than what we got,” he said.

“After having a difficult start, especially when they scored so early in a really good combination, they had the quality to open you up and finish the way they did. But after that, I think the team started to get better and better.”

Fine margins once again proved pivotal. “The margins are so small, we have two massive chances, probably the best two chances of the game with Gabi and Leo, one v one with the keeper,” Arteta noted. “He managed to save them and then obviously the goal was disallowed. That’s the margins and unfortunately we couldn’t score.”

Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images

Arsenal’s away form in Europe this season, including a famous victory at the Bernabéu, offers precedent for belief. For Arteta, producing another big performance in France is the level expected of a team with serious ambitions to be crowned European champions.

“That’s what we have to do,” he said. “If you want to win the Champions League or be in the final, you have to do something exceptional in the tournament at some point. That’s what we have to now plan and do when we get to Paris in a few days.

“I know we’re facing a top team, and we did a lot of good things but unfortunately the result doesn’t show a lot of the good things that we did.

“It’s half-time, you see the margins. You see the level of the two teams. We’re going to have our chances and we’re going to have to be very clinical when we have them.”