Nineteen years on from their first dose of Champions League heartbreak in the French capital, history could repeat itself for Arsenal on Wednesday, when the Gunners reunite with Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their semi-final.
Ballon d’Or-chasing Ousmane Dembele came up with the only goal of the first leg at the Emirates, forcing Arsenal to try to do what only two teams have done before them to punch their ticket to the final.
The Gunners have it all to do away against the Champions League outright favourites with a 1-0 deficit, but they can take heart from having won at the Bernebeu in the previous round.
In some respects, Arsenal and PSG’s first leg was reminiscent of the Gunners’ quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid; only this time, it was the Premier League powerhouses making all of the pre-game noise only to fail to deliver on the pitch itself.
The hosts have only ever suffered one elimination from a European knockout tie when winning the first leg away from home, although that did come to English opposition in the shape of Manchester United in 2018-19.
That result contributes to an underwhelming streak of form for Les Parisiens, who have now lost three and won just two of their last six games across all competitions, but Enrique unsurprisingly put out a second-string team at the weekend, which is more than can be said for the men in red and white.
As PSG were beaten 2-1 in league action while resting most of their starters, Arsenal suffered the same fate with most of their big-hitters on the pitch against Bournemouth.
Furthermore, only two teams have ever managed to progress from a Champions League semi-final after losing the first leg at home – Ajax against Panathinaikos in 1996 and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur against the former in 2019 – although Spurs will be loath to give their worst enemy any pointers on captivating away comebacks.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Gunners, though, as their side travel to the French capital on a seven-game unbeaten run away from home across all competitions, winning each of their last four on the road in Europe and scoring at least two goals each time.
Repeating their 2-1 Bernabeu victory over Real Madrid would give Arsenal a shot at salvation in extra time, but as PSG have struck a staggering 14 goals across their last three Champions League home victories, one should not knock Gooners for fearing the worst in Europe again.
The one negative aspect of the first leg from a PSG perspective was goalscorer Dembele suffering a hamstring strain, but he avoided a serious problem and has been given the green light to face the Gunners.
On Arsenal’s side, Thomas Partey was missed to no end in the first leg as he served a suspension for a needless yellow card at the Bernabeu, but the Ghana international is now free to take his usual place as the Gunners’ midfield anchor.
Partey and Rice should operate alongside skipper Martin Odegaard, who appeared to take a slight knock at the weekend but nothing that should impact his availability for Wednesday, while Jurrien Timber trained on Tuesday after sitting out the Cherries loss so should be good to go too.
There is no downplaying the importance of Partey’s return and possible absence of Dembele, but as Arsenal go on the offensive, PSG’s scintillating wide men can exploit any gaps that open up and move one step closer to a coveted European crown.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
