As Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain meet at the Parc Des Princes for the second leg of the Champions League semifinal, they now know that the winner will face Inter in the UCL final on May 31 in Munich. Of course, there’s plenty of work to be done with PSG holding a narrow 1-0 lead after the first leg, but the pressure is on in the second leg of the semifinal.
PSG came close to allowing a goal in the first leg, getting saved by VAR on Mikel Merino’s finish, and that’s a warning to be wary of Arsenal on set pieces. Being at home, PSG will have plenty of support on their side, but given that neither team involved has won a Champions League title in their history, the mental side of the match will be the hardest to deal with.
Here are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch PSG vs. Arsenal, odds
- Date: Wednesday, May 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Parc des Princes — Paris, France
- TV: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: PSG +109; Draw +263; Arsenal +234
First leg recap
The first leg was quite a chess match between these two teams as PSG started quickly with Ousmane Dembele scoring only four minutes into the game. From there, it was about 20 minutes of dominance from the Parisians until Arsenal’s defense caught up. While the Gunners created the better chances of the teams after that, the opening goal loomed large and was enough to keep them from bringing things to Paris level.
What the coaches are saying
The stage couldn’t be bigger for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal with how high the stakes are in this match. Arsenal has won the FA Cup under Arteta, but having come up short in the Premier League title race multiple times, this is a moment that could become his crowning achievement as manager of the Gunners.
“Yeah, one of the most beautiful, for sure. I mean, again, one win away from being in the final. We cannot ask for anything else,” Arteta said about the occasion. “Let’s not do the talking 1746614342, let’s do it tomorrow on that pitch at 9pm [CET] when the game starts. Show our best, best, best, best version and win the game.”
To win, he’ll need a better showing from Martin Odegaard, but Arteta will have done his best to prepare the Gunners for what’s to come.
On the PSG side, after Kylian Mbappe left for Real Madrid, this team has been able to reinvent themselves and everyone knows what they need to do under Enrique. With his birthday happening the day after the match the team has a chance to make it an extra special occasion but having been a manager who has overseen plenty of matches with high stakes, Enrique won’t let this get bigger than it is.
“We’re here because we deserve to be, we won the first game and tomorrow’s objective is to win the second. There are a lot of potential keys, but I think we have to show the confidence that our supporters have shown us, in terms of effort and emotional intelligence,” Enrique said. “There will be details we can control. We’re going to have to stay true to the ideas we’ve had so far. We’re going to go into this match and build on our strengths. If things don’t go our way, we’ll be competitive enough to turn things around.”
Predicted lineups
PSG: Ginluigi Donarrumma, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia
Arsenal: David Raya, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jakub Kiwior, William Saliba, Ben White, Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka
Player to watch
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG: The key to making this PSG team tick has been the arrival of Kvaratskhelia from Napoli to close out the January transfer window. The Georgian plays like he was built for this PSG system and while he may only have four goals and five assists in 22 appearances for the club in all competitions, four of those goal contributions have come in Champions League play.
When PSG needs him most, Kvaratskhelia has been able to step up and make things happen, which will again be the case playing at home here. Facing Arsenal’s defense, focused on winning individual duals, Kvaratskhelia’s brilliance on the dribble can break the game open if he wins his matchups.
Storyline to watch
Will the pressure of the treble get to PSG? With Barcelona falling to Inter, PSG is now the final team standing with a chance at a treble. Having already won Ligue 1, and playing in the Coupe De France final on May 24, PSG may be three wins from accomplishing that feat, but it won’t be an easy thing to do by any means. Each team that made it to this stage suffered disappointment at some point in their journey, but Enrique will want to avoid Barcelona’s fate of suffering that in the Champions League. The pressure can be saved for something else because with not having a UCL title in their history, a win in this competition will mean more to PSG than any other trophy that they could capture this season. That only adds more pressure to the team but pressure can also create diamonds when applied properly.
Prediction
PSG will need to wait a little longer than the fourth minute of play to score an opening goal this time around, but when Dembele finds the back of the net again in the first half, relief will wash over all of the home fans in the stadium. Arsenal will create some tension by scoring themselves but it won’t be enough as PSG nets an insurance goal to take care of things in regulation. Pick: PSG 2, Arsenal 1
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