Mikel Arteta can tell his players with certainty that Paris on Wednesday could be among the greatest nights in Arsenal’s august history, although his team face an irresistible force which is knocking down the Premier League’s elite one-by-one.
This fine Paris St-Germain team have now beaten all four of the Premier League clubs in the Champions League this season, although it was not just the goal from Ousmane Dembélé. At times, especially in their opening 20 minutes, this was a dazzling performance – and in those moments it felt enough for Arsenal to survive. They did, and they are still in this Champions League semi-final, although there is a nagging feeling that PSG have more gears.
WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE 💥
PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman’s goal#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/hZe3vSLIhO
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
There was no eruption of noise from the Emirates crowd as Arteta had asked, a point which Wayne Rooney, who has won a Champions League semi-final at this stadium, was at pains to make on the Amazon Prime coverage. Instead the stadium felt the dizzying momentum of that early PSG dominance and settled into a kind of anxiety. There would be rage directed at the Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic and later a hopefulness when Arsenal improved, but really this tie could easily have been decided had PSG taken all their chances.
There was an injury to Dembélé, who scored in the fourth minute at the end of a 26-pass masterclass that ebbed and flowed across the Emirates pitch before reaching its decisive point. Luis Enrique would later wave away the injury concerns over his No 10 – “just a niggle”, he said. Dembélé was the sharpest edge to PSG’s attack and very hard for Arsenal to control. He operated deep behind Arsenal’s midfield. In those first 20 minutes he changed position over and again.
This is an excellent Arsenal team – its misfortune is that it appears to have run into the most exceptional side in Europe this year and perhaps many more. PSG have eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa, and they defeated Manchester City in the penultimate game of the league stage in January. Arsenal, like Liverpool and Villa, have beaten PSG over the course of 90 minutes, although since that win in October at the Emirates, this PSG side has been refined and reinforced.
The great Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived in January and it was his direct running at Jurrien Timber that created the space for his pass to Dembélé on four minutes. The goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was superb again, as he had been at Anfield. He saved from Leandro Trossard just before the hour – arguably Arsenal’s best chance.
Donnarumma with ANOTHER incredible save! 🤯#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/sRODYgVRwu
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
Arteta would later say that the struggle in the first 20 minutes was an issue with his team’s shape – “very specific but very important” he said, although he would not say exactly what that involved. Arteta said that things improved once it was corrected. Declan Rice was playing deeper in the absence of Thomas Partey. Martin Odegaard struggled to make a meaningful impression.
For a long time it looked like a set-piece might be Arsenal’s best hope and they did think that Mikel Merino’s headed goal from a Rice free-kick early in the second half might be that moment. It was rejected for offside by VAR after a three-minute deliberation, although the graphic suggested it was not even close to onside. Arteta said that there was still much to play for in Paris and this tie is certainly not out of sight. Although only twice in the modern Champions League format has a semi-final been won after a first leg defeat.
As Arsenal opened up so PSG went close at the end of the game to a second goal, with chances for the substitutes Bradley Barcola and a brilliantly improvised poke of the toe by another, Gonçalo Ramos. That reality for the home crowd took the edge off the heat that referee Vincic caught throughout the game and especially in the first half. There was a case for a second yellow for Achraf Hakimi. There was a disputed foul given against Bukayo Saka on Nuno Mendes at the end of the second half – although replays suggested it was not as clearly a mistake as the crowd believed.
The home crowd would end the first half blaming Vincic for a number of decisions, and he did not get them all right. But they did not all go against Arsenal. Timber had a shaky 10 minutes against Kvaratskhelia around the middle part of the half.
The Dutchman swung an arm across the PSG No 7 in the box on 16 minutes and there was enough of a drag on the winger for a case to be made for the penalty. Ten minutes later Timber would just about get enough on a Kvaratskhelia shot that David Raya could save it. On 31 minutes Désiré Doué had a shot saved and Fabián Ruiz hit the post with the follow-up.
Another day, another incredible save from David Raya 👏#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/7vXyk8INKG
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
It was an intense attacking assault on Arsenal. On top of that was the way PSG’s shape shifted. Dembélé dropped deep into the No 10 role. Doué and Kvaratskhelia orbited him. João Neves and Vitinha were so effective in possession and then, when PSG lost it, at winning it back. Ruiz was the muscle to those two Portuguese passing demons.
It was not all one way. Myles Lewis-Skelly won some crucial duels when it mattered most. He played in Gabriel Martinelli down the inside left channel at the end of the first half, and that was the first of the Donnarumma saves. Saka also finally came alive then too. After the Mendes decision was given against him, it was Saka’s reaction that was most damaging. He lashed at the ball and was booked for that rare flash of temper.
Gabriel Martinelli is denied an equaliser by an excellent Donnarumma save 🙌#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/yful49ZWaw
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
The second half was better for Arsenal: Merino’s header chalked off by VAR and the Trossard chance created by Rice at last breaking the PSG lines. It was on Trossard’s left foot, which opened the angle for the shot across Donnarumma. But you had to wonder if there was any value in a shot across the great Italian. His giant wingspan seems to cover it all.
Nevertheless, it was better from Arsenal. Arteta had no great attacking options from his bench, and Enrique had plenty. In the 82nd minute Arteta sent on Ben White for Timber. There was some more energy but not the great goalscoring threat Arsenal needed. Meanwhile PSG’s substitutes just looked much more dangerous.
10:35 PM BST
And finally… Luis Enrique speaks
With all the emotion [still fresh] it’s difficult to analyse a match like that. We showed the kind of team we are, playing our way. We scored the first goal in two or three minutes. I am happy. We suffered a lot we could have scored a second goal but still a second match and it’s going to be very tough.
[How indebted are you to Donnarumma]. That’s the work of goalkeepers, no? Save the team. They work every single day for that. In a semi-final you need all your players to perform and they did… for both teams.
The result leaves a little advantage for us but we have to go through the next match with the same mentality. We will suffer but with our supporters in our home stadium I think we can go through to the final.
10:30 PM BST
Mikel Arteta talks to Amazon Prime
Disappointed with the result. We put so much into the game. We struggled for the first 15 minutes. We were inefficient in where we won the ball and that caused us a few issues. After that the team got better and better and I’m disappointed we didn’t get out with a draw.
[On their goal] Credit to them because they get off from a situation that is completely closed and on their weak side. They bring the No9 very very far from the reference of your central defenders, and after that a lot of things still have to happen for them to score. They were very clinical
That was great timing [the ‘equaliser’] and it was millimetres offside. Then Martinelli is one-on-one and the keeper makes a great save. He has done that and then Trossard is one-on-one and he does it again. Those are the margins at this level.
Thomas [Partey] gives us options, flexibility and options.
It is half-time and we have a big chance to make it into the final.
10:20 PM BST
PSG’s Vitinha speaks to Amazon Prime
It was a great night. I think it was a very, very good performance. We controlled the game with the ball, and when we had to adapt to the circumstances of the game we did it.
We could have scored more but we are happy with 1-0.
This is not over. We have to play a great game in the second leg in Paris.
10:12 PM BST
Oliver Brown’s verdict
10:11 PM BST
David Raya speaks to Amazon Prime
They started very quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15-20 minutes but then we dominated, made a lot of chances and Donnarumma made some excellent saves. It’s only half-time. We showed after 25 minutes that we can win against any team and we have showed this season that we can win away too.
[Next week we will] try to approach the game the same way. We hurt them a lot, created a lot of chances.
10:08 PM BST
Here are the ratings
Arsenal player ratings vs PSG: Kiwior nervy as Donnarumma dominates
10:03 PM BST
Wayne Rooney
Says he feels disappointed by Arsenal but even more so by their fans who were superb against Real Madrid but were flat tonight. “Players need help. Tonight if they’d brought the same energy they had for Real Madrid they could have lifted the players by five per cent.”
“The fear kicked in today, I’ve always said they need a shift in mentality to elevate themselves,” adds Clarence Seedorf. “I saw PSG doing what I expected Arsenal to do: knowing when to press high, go low and just sit back and wait for the opponent to force a pass, then counter-attack. This is how you have to play in the Champions League.”
09:56 PM BST
Full time: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
PSG deserved that. They played very well, moving the ball slickly, perfectly complemented by the whirling movement of their players. And yet Arsenal don’t have to scale Everest at Parc des Princes. Saka did enough to suggest he will be a threat, Partey will liberate Rice and Lewis-Skelly is a wonderful footballer. It will be tough but not impossible. Donnarumma was tested severely but came through with flying colours.
09:54 PM BST
90+5 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Clever ball husbandry by Martinelli earns Arsenal one last corner on the left. Rice to take.
The referee blows for foul on Donnarumma by White. Fair enough in that instance. Not that the set-piece coach thinks that. Arteta puts him back in his box before he says something more to the fourth official.
09:52 PM BST
90+3 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
The referee waves play on after Pach trips Rice 22 yards out because Arsenal are on the front foot. Nwaneri plays it to Trossard who tees up Martinelli for a shot to the left of the D which he gets underneath and sends soaring into the crowd.
09:50 PM BST
90+1 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arteta runs out of his area to retrieve the ball so that Arsenal can take a quick throw. But after that urgency, Arsenal horseshoe it back to the keeper, up the other wing and back again.
Feels like Arsenal have missed that out-ball option in attack tonight. The Havertz/Merino profile. In that first 20 minutes, especially, they couldn’t relieve the pressure by going long. That Partey yellow card has really hurt them.
09:49 PM BST
90 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Five minutes of stoppage time are signalled to the crowd:
Nwaneri → Odegaard.
09:48 PM BST
89 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Rice goes for the whipped shot to the near post, hoping to catch them out or benefit from a ricochet, but Barcola stands firm to block and PSG scramble it clear.
Zaire-Emery → Joao Neves.
09:46 PM BST
88 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal free-kick on the left, parallel with the penalty spot after Hakimi is nutmegged by Martinelli and brings him down. Rice stands over it.
09:45 PM BST
87 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Ramos beats the offside trap and is clean through on the right of the box, not the greatest angle as Raya closes him down, so he gets it out from his feet as quickly as possible with a toe-poke that skims the top of the bar and loops behind for a goal-kick.
09:44 PM BST
86 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Huge chance for Barcola after Neves and Ramos join him to manipulate the ball quickly in a triangle on the right before Ramos draws Kiwior and then slips it behind for Barcola to run into the box, one-on-one with Raya but he snatches at it and screws his shot wide of the left post.
09:42 PM BST
84 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
White takes no chances when first faced by Kvaratskhelia and boots the ball into touch.
09:41 PM BST
82 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are probing without penetration and try to force it with a long ball over the top after a minute that Donnarumma pounces on before Trossard can meet it.
White → Timber.
09:39 PM BST
80 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia cuts in off the left wing on to his right foot by the left right-angle of the area and pumps a right-foot shot into orbit.
09:38 PM BST
78 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Yet another fine Donnarumma save low to his left even if it made no difference because the offside flag goes up before he can bask at it. Still, he got down very quickly to stop Saka’s rifled shot after the England forward’s neat control and turn opened up a narrow path to goal.
09:35 PM BST
76 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arteta tries to get the crowd going with a whirl of the arms. Still no Arsenal changes but here’s another for PSG. Doué is a major talent, a joy to watch:
Ramos → Doué.
09:33 PM BST
74 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia spots Raya off his line just after crossing halfway and goes for what we are professionally obliged to call ‘an audacious chip’. But it drifts miles wide of the right post.
09:32 PM BST
72 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Donnarumma bounds out of goal to catch Odegaard’s floaty left-foot cross from the right. The Arsenal captain’s delivery hasn’t been up to his best tonight.
09:30 PM BST
70 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
First change:
Barcola → Dembélé who promptly heads straight down the tunnel. Didn’t have an obvious injury but he must have had a knock not to sit on the bench.
09:28 PM BST
68 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Not sure Arsenal, Nwaneri apart, have anyone on the bench in the form to make much difference out there. Perhaps Zinchenko or Tierney out wide on the left?
09:26 PM BST
66 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Timber seems to be injured but is carrying on gamely for now, trying to run it off.
09:23 PM BST
64 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Saka, hoping to receive a return from Trossard in a one-two is exasperated when his team-mate gives it to Merino instead and Arsenal’s promising attack breaks down on the 18-yard line when Merino’s delayed pass is picked off.
09:22 PM BST
62 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Timber misjudges the bounce of a pass played up to Kvaratskhelia and runs past it. Saliba bails him out with the use of his body to hold off the winger until he slips and Saliba can nip it away.
09:20 PM BST
60 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Excellent tackle from Saliba seven yards out, sliding in to stab the ball away from Hakimi who had stolen into the box after more quick-fire passing between the right-back and Dembélé.
During that first 25 minutes, it felt like Arsenal might never find their feet in this game. That’s not the feeling any more. They are alive again.
09:18 PM BST
58 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Donnarumma has had his critics but he was excellent at Wembley, Anfield, Villa Park and here after an off night on his last visit.
09:17 PM BST
56 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
A second magnificent save from Donnarumma thwarts Trossard who was sent down the inside left channel by Rice. The Belgium forward gallops into the box to fire a left-foot shot towards the bottom right corner that Donnarumma meets low to his left with a tungsten wrist to turn it behind at full stretch.
Donnarumma with ANOTHER incredible save! 🤯#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/sRODYgVRwu
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
09:14 PM BST
54 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are trying to be more compact when defending and not overcommitting to the press. Kiwior does well to stop Doué and Hakimi breaking into the box down the left with pace and positioning guile to block them off.
09:12 PM BST
51 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
That’s let some air out of Arsenal’s tyres after such a good start to the half. As per their set-piece coach’s instructions, five Arsenal runners started in offside positions and darted back when the free-kick was struck… but not quickly enough:
09:09 PM BST
No goal
After three minutes of checking, Merino was offside when he nodded in Rice’s cross. .
09:07 PM BST
Oh hang on… VAR check for offside
Were they coming back from offside positions?
Preposterously tight.
09:05 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 1 PSG 1 (Merino)
09:05 PM BST
46 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
We are only a quarter of the way through this tie and the key is to start at Parc des Princes within touching distance when Arsenal will have Partey and possibly even Havertz back. But they could easily lose it tonight if they don’t tighten up.
Arsenal kick off, overloading down the left and knock it back to Raya who launches it up that wing and Merino is caught in the face by Joao Neves’ arm, conceding a free-kick and earning himself a booking. Good job they started this stage with the slate wiped clean or a few players might be in bother.
08:58 PM BST
Clarence Seedorf tipped Arsenal to win
But now rails about their absurd commitment to the high press when they cannot win the bill often enough against a team who can shift it so quickly. It means that they are giving away far too much space in midfield. “And they are committing too many stupid fouls. They need more enthusiasm and excitement from the crowd who are too tense.”
08:50 PM BST
Half-time: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal have finally found some attacking momentum in the last 20 minutes but were played off the park for the first 20. They have made chances but have been unable to find the kind of ruthlessly precise finishing you need to beat a keeper of Donnarumma’s wingspan. PSG have been slick and dangerous, largely because of their work in midfield, supplemented by Dembélé dropping in too. Arsenal have been far too open and their midfield doesn’t seem to be able to get a grip and consequently they are yielding too much space.
08:49 PM BST
45 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Fine save from Donnarumma low to his right after Martinelli steps in off the left wing and bends a shot that was arrowing towards the bottom left off his right instep. The Euro 2020 hero got down smartly to smack it away.
08:47 PM BST
43 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Poor refereeing to book Saka when he was battling Mendes for the ball and the left-back fell over after the softest of touches. Within a minute Hakimi joins him in the book, this one justified for hacking down Timber’s surge.
08:45 PM BST
41 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are gaining a foothold and a long free-kick is hooked by Merino towards Trossard who flicks it tamely at Donnarumma.
The old-school Englishman in me thinks that Arsenal would benefit from simply smashing into little Vitinha and/or Neves. I suspect someone like Rice would quite like to do just that, to be honest. The problem is that Arsenal have struggled to get close enough to make such a challenge.
The tide is starting to turn, though. Saka is seeing more of the ball. Arsenal are pushing forward. The crowd are feeling it again.
08:43 PM BST
39 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Magnificent from Saka with his control and footwork down the left until he accelerates past Hakimi and stands up a cross to the back post. Martinelli ghosts in but is a fair way behind the wall so lunges at it by throwing himself horizontally at it but it squirts off his toe out towards the corner flag.
08:41 PM BST
37 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Brilliant tackle from Joao Neves just as Merino was about to pull the trigger in the box, left of centre. The referee confuses everyone by pointing to the ball, presumably meaning ‘he got the ball’ but because it was spinning towards the penalty spot the Arsenal fans, staff and players thought he was signalling for a penalty. The use of two hands rather than one would have made that a little clearer.
A fairly feeble chant of “you don’t know what you’re doing” is aimed towards referee Slavko Vincic as he neglects to award a penalty for Joao Neves’ challenge on Mikel Merino. But replays, clearly showing Neves take the ball, confirm that on this occasion, the Slovenian official very much did know.
08:39 PM BST
35 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Lewis-Skelly, who is playing well, earns a free-kick when he dips his shoulder to dart inside Joao Neves and protects the ball with his body. The Portugal midfielder telescopes his leg across to trip him up. Free-kick, 30 yards out, 10 in from the touchline. Odegaard can’t beat the first man.
08:36 PM BST
33 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Very good save from Raya low to his left, iron wrist and palm after Doué had thumped a right-foot shot having spun in off the left wing between Timber and Merino. Ruiz tried to gobble up the rebound but was offside, Raya turns to the stand behind his goal and tries to rouse the crowd by raising his hands, demanding more.
08:33 PM BST
31 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
It’s hardly a revolutionary idea but Arsenal’s lack of an even remotely orthodox forward threat is letting Marquinhos and Pacho play out with comfort.
I can’t recall an Arsenal game in recent seasons in which Arteta’s team have been so unable to get on the ball and play their passing game. After 21 minutes they had completed only 32 passes. In that same time, PSG completed 134.
08:30 PM BST
29 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Now Arsenal work the ball to Trossard in an almost identical mirror position to that Kvaratskhelia effort and he too smacks his shot straight at the keeper.
08:29 PM BST
27 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Odegaard, Rice and Merino were trying to work a triangle 30 yards from goal to send Rice down the right but Merino’s heavy touch concedes possession and PSG break at speed, working the ball over to Kvaratskhelia to step in off the left wing and ping a shot too close to Raya.
08:27 PM BST
25 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
The home crowd is in better spirits, buoyed by a forceful but fair Saliba tackle on Dembélé.
08:26 PM BST
23 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Lewis-Skelly tackles Hakimi and squeezes past him so Hakimi legs him up. Arsenal free-kick 45 yards out. Odegaard stans over it and floats it into the box for Kiwior to flick toewards goal from 15 yards but without the power to beat Donnarumma.
08:24 PM BST
21 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Better from Arsenal, though it ends with a PSG free-kick for Merino and Kiwior sandwiching Ruiz as they tried to converge on Odegaard’s cross after slick work from Saka down the right.
08:22 PM BST
19 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal still struggling for fluency and when they lose the ball up top, Timber is penalised for clipping Kvaratskhelia’s heels on halfway as the winger tried to roll him. The referee calls the captains over to tell them to have a word with their players and their histrionics. Odegaard could d with more of the ball.
08:20 PM BST
17 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia wants a penalty when he hits the deck after Timber wraps his arm round his waist on the left of the box but the referee is having none of it and there. He chases the referee to press his case but it makes no difference. Mark Clattenburg says that deserves a yellow card as it was blatant dissent.
Should PSG have been awarded a penalty here? 🤔#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/lLUucGsT40
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
08:18 PM BST
14 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Marqunhos flashes a header straight down Raya’s throat from a corner on the left earned by Kvaratskhelia’s dazzling feet. They switch it to Hakimi to cross but the PSG captain can only direct it towards the middle of goal.
A remarkable goal from Dembele for PSG. Clearly the ball from Dembele to Kvaratskehlia and then his directness and pass were outstanding. But the passing sequence that preceded it was brilliant. Arsenal just could not win it back.
08:14 PM BST
12 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Some disquiet in the home crowd at the sheer number of passes PSG are stringing together unmolested. The hardcore try to rally the players with cries of ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal’.
08:13 PM BST
10 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal corner on the left after good defending from Marquinhos as Martinelli dribbled up the wing. Rice whips it deep to the back post, looking for Saka who nods it back across but PSG clear and send Hakimi off on a break. Trossard shoves him over on halfway and is booked somewhat harshly.
Several pink flares have been lit in a febrile Paris St-Germain end. Par for the course at Parc des Princes, but a few Emirates stewards are wading into the crowd to extinguish them.
08:10 PM BST
7 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal’s midfield is not alert enough and PSG are hogging possession. Need to get a few tackles in.
Remarkable start by PSG. Not only have Arsenal conceded, they have also barely touched the ball. They are not used to trailing in this competition (they had been ahead on the scoreboard in 53% of their match time in Europe until tonight). This is a different challenge now.
08:05 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 0 PSG 1 (Dembélé) PSG were sweeping the ball around with ease at the back until Mendes fizzed a daisycutter of a diagonal to Dembélé in the centre-circle. He turns and takes the ball forward, tacking left and feeds Kvaratskhelia who runs at Timber then picks out Dembélé, who had halted his burst by the 18-yard line. He has all the space he needs to crash a left-foot shot in off the right post.
WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE 💥
PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman’s goal#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/hZe3vSLIhO
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
08:04 PM BST
3 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 0
Mendes lets a pass under pressure roll out for a throw and sends it back to Pacho, prompting Arsenal to press high. Hakimi tries to break it with a clipped ball up the right but there’s no blue shirt there and Lewis-Skelly runs it down.
There is a huge effort by both Mikel Arteta and the stadium announcer to orchestrate a display of unparalleled passion inside the Emirates. But aside from the giant red tifo, the more impressive choreography arguably comes courtesy of the Paris St Germain ultras, whose co-ordinated applause is relentless. They rival Real Madrid’s ‘Grada fans’, aka the ‘white wall’, for intimidation factor.
08:02 PM BST
1 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 0
PSG kick off, attacking from right to left. The atmosphere is electric and the manager’s invitation to head very ball with the players, metaphorically, has been eagerly embraced.
08:01 PM BST
But first…
A minute’s silence for Pope Francis, “a man of justice and peace”.
07:59 PM BST
Out come the teams
Arsenal in red and white with that odd touch of navy, PSG in their fourth kit, mainly navy with white swirls on their sleeves They could have worn their home shirts or their pink third strip.
07:55 PM BST
The players are in the tunnel
And it’s time for The Angel, which will be followed by:
Ce sont les meilleures équipes
Sie sind die allerbesten Mannschaften
The main event
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
07:48 PM BST
Declan Rice’s words in the warm-up huddle
“If we don’t have the ball we’ll die.”
Wayne Rooney points out that there will be times home and away when they won’t have the ball and the key is staying together and compact when they don’t.
07:39 PM BST
Heating up
07:26 PM BST
Alex Aljoe catches up with David Raya
Can Arsenal add another clean sheet to their total tonight? 🚫#UCLonPrime | @alexaljoepic.twitter.com/eusmM7OoPv
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
07:15 PM BST
A message from Anne Hathaway
07:12 PM BST
Arsène Wenger is at the Emirates tonight
And has embraced some former colleagues and members of staff before taking the lift to his seat.
Arsène Wenger is in the building 🤩#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/Jjzv4Cu7i8
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
07:08 PM BST
Mikel Arteta speaks to Amazon’s Logan, Walcott and Seedorf
There’s excitement. It’s a big game, a big night for us and an opportunity to make the next step.
We have to generate one of the most amazing nights the stadium has seen.
The game is about passion, energy and connections with people. When you have that, and you can feel it on the pitch, we know what a difference it can make.
In June we started to prepare for moments like this and now we have to deliver it.
Just express yourself and go for it.
The team look ready. Of course there will be difficult moments, we are prepared for that.
Adapt to any context; any context is good for us. Live it, embrace it, and then you have to earn the right to win the game. In order to achieve that, every individual has to step up.
06:58 PM BST
Then and now
When these two teams met in October, the difference in physical stature was one of the most striking aspects of the match. Arsenal bullied PSG, winning battles across the pitch and generally outmuscling their opponents.
Can they do so again tonight? Well, it might not be so straightforward. In that October contest, Arsenal had Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz in their team. They are three of Arsenal’s most physically imposing players, and they are all missing through injury tonight. Jakub Kiwior, Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard simply do not possess the same muscularity and physical intensity.
06:57 PM BST
Your teams in the trad style
Arsenal Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
PSG Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz; Kvaratskehlia, Dembélé, Doué.
Substitutes Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, L Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)
06:55 PM BST
PSG Team news
Doué replaces Barcola:
🎙️⚽️ L’avant match Arsenal FC 🆚 Paris Saint-Germain en direct 🔴🔵 https://t.co/ATKUrI72Kq
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 29, 2025
06:50 PM BST
Arsenal team news: Trossard up front, Merino in midfield
06:36 PM BST
PSG arrive in N5/N7
Ils arrivent… 🌋🔥#ARSPSG | #UCLpic.twitter.com/okt1CLCiKT
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 29, 2025
06:34 PM BST
Anne Hathaway, Dua Lipa and Beyonce’s support is so important to Arsenal and PSG
If Declan Rice’s free-kicks were the two most eye-catching moments of Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid, then Anne Hathaway’s subsequent show of support might have been a close third. The Hollywood actress celebrated Arsenal’s first-leg victory with an unexpected rendition of The Angel, the club’s anthem.
Hathaway’s performance, shared on her social media, prompted almost as many headlines as Rice’s match-winning brace. A few weeks earlier, her post about Bukayo Saka’s return from injury generated two million likes on Instagram, which was twice as many as Saka and Arsenal’s own posts combined. Arsenal are a big deal but Hathaway, it seems, is even bigger.
06:31 PM BST
How will Arsenal adapt in Partey’s absence?
Across two legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal’s players made only two notable errors. The first was Bukayo Saka’s missed penalty in the Santiago Bernabeu. The second was Thomas Partey’s inexplicable decision to shove Dani Ceballos, the Madrid midfielder, in the chest in the final minutes of the game.
Of those two mistakes, Partey’s was by far the most significant. It earned him the most needless of yellow cards — picked up in the 85th minute, with the aggregate score at 5-1 — and meant that he will be suspended from Tuesday’s semi-final first leg between Arsenal and Paris St-Germain.
For a player of Partey’s experience (he turns 32 in June and has made more than 400 senior club appearances) it was an astonishingly mindless move. The fear for Arsenal is that it could prove to be costly, too. Not only because Mikel Arteta will be without Partey on Tuesday, but also because his absence likely necessitates a shift in attack and midfield.
In the moments following Partey’s yellow in Spain, he was grabbed by a furious Declan Rice. Anger etched all over Rice’s face, the England midfielder screamed at his team-mate. It does not require a professional lip-reader to see that “you’re getting banned” were among the words that Rice used.
It should be no surprise that Rice was fuming. Of all the Arsenal players, he will probably be the most impacted by Partey’s carelessness. The expectation is that Rice will now have to drop into the deeper midfield position, playing as a “No 6” rather than as an all-action box-to-box player. Having so impressively demonstrated his all-round qualities against Madrid, Rice will now be forced to play a far more cautious game against PSG.
The secondary impact is on Mikel Merino. Arsenal’s emergency striker has been remarkably effective as a centre-forward in European games but now, with Rice moving into a deeper role, will likely have to drop into the left side of the midfield three. Arsenal have therefore had to alter the positions of arguably their two best players of the quarter-final against Madrid.
Why would playing Merino in his natural midfield position be a problem? Well, Arsenal have spent the last few months adjusting to the Spaniard as their focal point in attack. He has been studying hard, learning the patterns and movements required to be a striker. Since moving to an attacking role in February, he has scored six goals and registered four assists.
Now, Merino must seamlessly adjust to his previous role. He did so promisingly against Ipswich Town earlier this month but has since picked up an injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to start on Tuesday night.
PSG’s midfield trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz are supreme technicians. Can Arsenal bully them again, as they did in October’s 2-0 victory, with Rice playing in a restrained role? Can Merino re-adjust to his old role against elite opposition? These questions could define the tie.
05:52 PM BST
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05:50 PM BST
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05:47 PM BST
Preview: the holy grail
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain from Emirates Stadium. This is the ‘have-not’ semi-final between two clubs who have yet to win ‘Old Big Ears’ but both have been runners-up and would fancy their chances of clinching their ‘holy grail’ at the Allianz Arena on May 31 of becoming maiden winners of the tournament like Manchester City in 2023, Chelsea in 2012 and Borussia Dortmund in 1997.
This is Arsenal’s third semi-final appearance in this competition with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Villarreal to take them to Stade de France in 2006 tempered by the 4-1 defeat by Manchester United three years later. For PSG this is a fifth visit to the last four, winning once in a one-off semi during the pandemic when they beat RB Leipzig 3-0, in the credit column and 3-0 defeats by Milan in 1995, 4-1 by Man City in 2021 and, most crushingly, 2-0 by Dortmund last year on the debit side.
Arsenal have beaten PSG in a European semi-final before, winning 2-1 on aggregate, the late Kevin Campbell scoring the only goal at Highbury in 1994 after a 1-1 draw at Parc des Princes to send them on to Copenhagen, minus Ian Wright, their goalscorer in Paris, who was booked in the second leg and banned for the semi-final, where, in one of the greatest defensive displays this observer has seen, they prevailed 1-0 against the Parma of Gianfranco Zola, Tomas Brolin, Faustino Asprilla and Nestor Sensini to win the Cup Winners’ Cup.
They also saw them off in the group stage of this season’s competition with a 2-0 victory in North London by virtue of goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. This is a different PSG, though. Luis Enrique dropped Ousmane Dembélé for that match and used Lee Kang-in as a false nine instead to punish the France forward’s indolent intensity. That rocket has transformed Dembélé who now has 32 goals in all competitions and forms a fluid forward line with Bradley Barcola (18 goals) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the January signing from Napoli called ‘prime Eden Hazard’ by Thierry Henry.
PSG are at full strength while Arsenal have lost Thomas Partey to suspension following his foolish booking at the Bernabéu. Ben White and Mikel Merino sat out last week’s draw with Crystal Palace but should be available tonight while Havertz is making good progress and may be back for the second leg of the semi-final and the final, a stage he has conquered before, should they get there. But Messrs Tomiyasu, Gabriel and Gabriel Jesus are out for the season while Jorginho and Calafiori are still a week or so away.
Mikel Arteta can tell his players with certainty that Paris on Wednesday could be among the greatest nights in Arsenal’s august history, although his team face an irresistible force which is knocking down the Premier League’s elite one-by-one.
This fine Paris St-Germain team have now beaten all four of the Premier League clubs in the Champions League this season, although it was not just the goal from Ousmane Dembélé. At times, especially in their opening 20 minutes, this was a dazzling performance – and in those moments it felt enough for Arsenal to survive. They did, and they are still in this Champions League semi-final, although there is a nagging feeling that PSG have more gears.
WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE 💥
PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman’s goal#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/hZe3vSLIhO
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
There was no eruption of noise from the Emirates crowd as Arteta had asked, a point which Wayne Rooney, who has won a Champions League semi-final at this stadium, was at pains to make on the Amazon Prime coverage. Instead the stadium felt the dizzying momentum of that early PSG dominance and settled into a kind of anxiety. There would be rage directed at the Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic and later a hopefulness when Arsenal improved, but really this tie could easily have been decided had PSG taken all their chances.
There was an injury to Dembélé, who scored in the fourth minute at the end of a 26-pass masterclass that ebbed and flowed across the Emirates pitch before reaching its decisive point. Luis Enrique would later wave away the injury concerns over his No 10 – “just a niggle”, he said. Dembélé was the sharpest edge to PSG’s attack and very hard for Arsenal to control. He operated deep behind Arsenal’s midfield. In those first 20 minutes he changed position over and again.
This is an excellent Arsenal team – its misfortune is that it appears to have run into the most exceptional side in Europe this year and perhaps many more. PSG have eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa, and they defeated Manchester City in the penultimate game of the league stage in January. Arsenal, like Liverpool and Villa, have beaten PSG over the course of 90 minutes, although since that win in October at the Emirates, this PSG side has been refined and reinforced.
The great Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived in January and it was his direct running at Jurrien Timber that created the space for his pass to Dembélé on four minutes. The goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was superb again, as he had been at Anfield. He saved from Leandro Trossard just before the hour – arguably Arsenal’s best chance.
Donnarumma with ANOTHER incredible save! 🤯#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/sRODYgVRwu
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
Arteta would later say that the struggle in the first 20 minutes was an issue with his team’s shape – “very specific but very important” he said, although he would not say exactly what that involved. Arteta said that things improved once it was corrected. Declan Rice was playing deeper in the absence of Thomas Partey. Martin Odegaard struggled to make a meaningful impression.
For a long time it looked like a set-piece might be Arsenal’s best hope and they did think that Mikel Merino’s headed goal from a Rice free-kick early in the second half might be that moment. It was rejected for offside by VAR after a three-minute deliberation, although the graphic suggested it was not even close to onside. Arteta said that there was still much to play for in Paris and this tie is certainly not out of sight. Although only twice in the modern Champions League format has a semi-final been won after a first leg defeat.
As Arsenal opened up so PSG went close at the end of the game to a second goal, with chances for the substitutes Bradley Barcola and a brilliantly improvised poke of the toe by another, Gonçalo Ramos. That reality for the home crowd took the edge off the heat that referee Vincic caught throughout the game and especially in the first half. There was a case for a second yellow for Achraf Hakimi. There was a disputed foul given against Bukayo Saka on Nuno Mendes at the end of the second half – although replays suggested it was not as clearly a mistake as the crowd believed.
The home crowd would end the first half blaming Vincic for a number of decisions, and he did not get them all right. But they did not all go against Arsenal. Timber had a shaky 10 minutes against Kvaratskhelia around the middle part of the half.
The Dutchman swung an arm across the PSG No 7 in the box on 16 minutes and there was enough of a drag on the winger for a case to be made for the penalty. Ten minutes later Timber would just about get enough on a Kvaratskhelia shot that David Raya could save it. On 31 minutes Désiré Doué had a shot saved and Fabián Ruiz hit the post with the follow-up.
Another day, another incredible save from David Raya 👏#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/7vXyk8INKG
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
It was an intense attacking assault on Arsenal. On top of that was the way PSG’s shape shifted. Dembélé dropped deep into the No 10 role. Doué and Kvaratskhelia orbited him. João Neves and Vitinha were so effective in possession and then, when PSG lost it, at winning it back. Ruiz was the muscle to those two Portuguese passing demons.
It was not all one way. Myles Lewis-Skelly won some crucial duels when it mattered most. He played in Gabriel Martinelli down the inside left channel at the end of the first half, and that was the first of the Donnarumma saves. Saka also finally came alive then too. After the Mendes decision was given against him, it was Saka’s reaction that was most damaging. He lashed at the ball and was booked for that rare flash of temper.
Gabriel Martinelli is denied an equaliser by an excellent Donnarumma save 🙌#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/yful49ZWaw
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
The second half was better for Arsenal: Merino’s header chalked off by VAR and the Trossard chance created by Rice at last breaking the PSG lines. It was on Trossard’s left foot, which opened the angle for the shot across Donnarumma. But you had to wonder if there was any value in a shot across the great Italian. His giant wingspan seems to cover it all.
Nevertheless, it was better from Arsenal. Arteta had no great attacking options from his bench, and Enrique had plenty. In the 82nd minute Arteta sent on Ben White for Timber. There was some more energy but not the great goalscoring threat Arsenal needed. Meanwhile PSG’s substitutes just looked much more dangerous.
10:35 PM BST
And finally… Luis Enrique speaks
With all the emotion [still fresh] it’s difficult to analyse a match like that. We showed the kind of team we are, playing our way. We scored the first goal in two or three minutes. I am happy. We suffered a lot we could have scored a second goal but still a second match and it’s going to be very tough.
[How indebted are you to Donnarumma]. That’s the work of goalkeepers, no? Save the team. They work every single day for that. In a semi-final you need all your players to perform and they did… for both teams.
The result leaves a little advantage for us but we have to go through the next match with the same mentality. We will suffer but with our supporters in our home stadium I think we can go through to the final.
10:30 PM BST
Mikel Arteta talks to Amazon Prime
Disappointed with the result. We put so much into the game. We struggled for the first 15 minutes. We were inefficient in where we won the ball and that caused us a few issues. After that the team got better and better and I’m disappointed we didn’t get out with a draw.
[On their goal] Credit to them because they get off from a situation that is completely closed and on their weak side. They bring the No9 very very far from the reference of your central defenders, and after that a lot of things still have to happen for them to score. They were very clinical
That was great timing [the ‘equaliser’] and it was millimetres offside. Then Martinelli is one-on-one and the keeper makes a great save. He has done that and then Trossard is one-on-one and he does it again. Those are the margins at this level.
Thomas [Partey] gives us options, flexibility and options.
It is half-time and we have a big chance to make it into the final.
10:20 PM BST
PSG’s Vitinha speaks to Amazon Prime
It was a great night. I think it was a very, very good performance. We controlled the game with the ball, and when we had to adapt to the circumstances of the game we did it.
We could have scored more but we are happy with 1-0.
This is not over. We have to play a great game in the second leg in Paris.
10:12 PM BST
Oliver Brown’s verdict
10:11 PM BST
David Raya speaks to Amazon Prime
They started very quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15-20 minutes but then we dominated, made a lot of chances and Donnarumma made some excellent saves. It’s only half-time. We showed after 25 minutes that we can win against any team and we have showed this season that we can win away too.
[Next week we will] try to approach the game the same way. We hurt them a lot, created a lot of chances.
10:08 PM BST
Here are the ratings
Arsenal player ratings vs PSG: Kiwior nervy as Donnarumma dominates
10:03 PM BST
Wayne Rooney
Says he feels disappointed by Arsenal but even more so by their fans who were superb against Real Madrid but were flat tonight. “Players need help. Tonight if they’d brought the same energy they had for Real Madrid they could have lifted the players by five per cent.”
“The fear kicked in today, I’ve always said they need a shift in mentality to elevate themselves,” adds Clarence Seedorf. “I saw PSG doing what I expected Arsenal to do: knowing when to press high, go low and just sit back and wait for the opponent to force a pass, then counter-attack. This is how you have to play in the Champions League.”
09:56 PM BST
Full time: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
PSG deserved that. They played very well, moving the ball slickly, perfectly complemented by the whirling movement of their players. And yet Arsenal don’t have to scale Everest at Parc des Princes. Saka did enough to suggest he will be a threat, Partey will liberate Rice and Lewis-Skelly is a wonderful footballer. It will be tough but not impossible. Donnarumma was tested severely but came through with flying colours.
09:54 PM BST
90+5 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Clever ball husbandry by Martinelli earns Arsenal one last corner on the left. Rice to take.
The referee blows for foul on Donnarumma by White. Fair enough in that instance. Not that the set-piece coach thinks that. Arteta puts him back in his box before he says something more to the fourth official.
09:52 PM BST
90+3 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
The referee waves play on after Pach trips Rice 22 yards out because Arsenal are on the front foot. Nwaneri plays it to Trossard who tees up Martinelli for a shot to the left of the D which he gets underneath and sends soaring into the crowd.
09:50 PM BST
90+1 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arteta runs out of his area to retrieve the ball so that Arsenal can take a quick throw. But after that urgency, Arsenal horseshoe it back to the keeper, up the other wing and back again.
Feels like Arsenal have missed that out-ball option in attack tonight. The Havertz/Merino profile. In that first 20 minutes, especially, they couldn’t relieve the pressure by going long. That Partey yellow card has really hurt them.
09:49 PM BST
90 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Five minutes of stoppage time are signalled to the crowd:
Nwaneri → Odegaard.
09:48 PM BST
89 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Rice goes for the whipped shot to the near post, hoping to catch them out or benefit from a ricochet, but Barcola stands firm to block and PSG scramble it clear.
Zaire-Emery → Joao Neves.
09:46 PM BST
88 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal free-kick on the left, parallel with the penalty spot after Hakimi is nutmegged by Martinelli and brings him down. Rice stands over it.
09:45 PM BST
87 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Ramos beats the offside trap and is clean through on the right of the box, not the greatest angle as Raya closes him down, so he gets it out from his feet as quickly as possible with a toe-poke that skims the top of the bar and loops behind for a goal-kick.
09:44 PM BST
86 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Huge chance for Barcola after Neves and Ramos join him to manipulate the ball quickly in a triangle on the right before Ramos draws Kiwior and then slips it behind for Barcola to run into the box, one-on-one with Raya but he snatches at it and screws his shot wide of the left post.
09:42 PM BST
84 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
White takes no chances when first faced by Kvaratskhelia and boots the ball into touch.
09:41 PM BST
82 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are probing without penetration and try to force it with a long ball over the top after a minute that Donnarumma pounces on before Trossard can meet it.
White → Timber.
09:39 PM BST
80 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia cuts in off the left wing on to his right foot by the left right-angle of the area and pumps a right-foot shot into orbit.
09:38 PM BST
78 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Yet another fine Donnarumma save low to his left even if it made no difference because the offside flag goes up before he can bask at it. Still, he got down very quickly to stop Saka’s rifled shot after the England forward’s neat control and turn opened up a narrow path to goal.
09:35 PM BST
76 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arteta tries to get the crowd going with a whirl of the arms. Still no Arsenal changes but here’s another for PSG. Doué is a major talent, a joy to watch:
Ramos → Doué.
09:33 PM BST
74 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia spots Raya off his line just after crossing halfway and goes for what we are professionally obliged to call ‘an audacious chip’. But it drifts miles wide of the right post.
09:32 PM BST
72 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Donnarumma bounds out of goal to catch Odegaard’s floaty left-foot cross from the right. The Arsenal captain’s delivery hasn’t been up to his best tonight.
09:30 PM BST
70 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
First change:
Barcola → Dembélé who promptly heads straight down the tunnel. Didn’t have an obvious injury but he must have had a knock not to sit on the bench.
09:28 PM BST
68 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Not sure Arsenal, Nwaneri apart, have anyone on the bench in the form to make much difference out there. Perhaps Zinchenko or Tierney out wide on the left?
09:26 PM BST
66 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Timber seems to be injured but is carrying on gamely for now, trying to run it off.
09:23 PM BST
64 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Saka, hoping to receive a return from Trossard in a one-two is exasperated when his team-mate gives it to Merino instead and Arsenal’s promising attack breaks down on the 18-yard line when Merino’s delayed pass is picked off.
09:22 PM BST
62 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Timber misjudges the bounce of a pass played up to Kvaratskhelia and runs past it. Saliba bails him out with the use of his body to hold off the winger until he slips and Saliba can nip it away.
09:20 PM BST
60 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Excellent tackle from Saliba seven yards out, sliding in to stab the ball away from Hakimi who had stolen into the box after more quick-fire passing between the right-back and Dembélé.
During that first 25 minutes, it felt like Arsenal might never find their feet in this game. That’s not the feeling any more. They are alive again.
09:18 PM BST
58 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Donnarumma has had his critics but he was excellent at Wembley, Anfield, Villa Park and here after an off night on his last visit.
09:17 PM BST
56 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
A second magnificent save from Donnarumma thwarts Trossard who was sent down the inside left channel by Rice. The Belgium forward gallops into the box to fire a left-foot shot towards the bottom right corner that Donnarumma meets low to his left with a tungsten wrist to turn it behind at full stretch.
Donnarumma with ANOTHER incredible save! 🤯#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/sRODYgVRwu
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
09:14 PM BST
54 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are trying to be more compact when defending and not overcommitting to the press. Kiwior does well to stop Doué and Hakimi breaking into the box down the left with pace and positioning guile to block them off.
09:12 PM BST
51 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
That’s let some air out of Arsenal’s tyres after such a good start to the half. As per their set-piece coach’s instructions, five Arsenal runners started in offside positions and darted back when the free-kick was struck… but not quickly enough:
09:09 PM BST
No goal
After three minutes of checking, Merino was offside when he nodded in Rice’s cross. .
09:07 PM BST
Oh hang on… VAR check for offside
Were they coming back from offside positions?
Preposterously tight.
09:05 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 1 PSG 1 (Merino)
09:05 PM BST
46 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
We are only a quarter of the way through this tie and the key is to start at Parc des Princes within touching distance when Arsenal will have Partey and possibly even Havertz back. But they could easily lose it tonight if they don’t tighten up.
Arsenal kick off, overloading down the left and knock it back to Raya who launches it up that wing and Merino is caught in the face by Joao Neves’ arm, conceding a free-kick and earning himself a booking. Good job they started this stage with the slate wiped clean or a few players might be in bother.
08:58 PM BST
Clarence Seedorf tipped Arsenal to win
But now rails about their absurd commitment to the high press when they cannot win the bill often enough against a team who can shift it so quickly. It means that they are giving away far too much space in midfield. “And they are committing too many stupid fouls. They need more enthusiasm and excitement from the crowd who are too tense.”
08:50 PM BST
Half-time: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal have finally found some attacking momentum in the last 20 minutes but were played off the park for the first 20. They have made chances but have been unable to find the kind of ruthlessly precise finishing you need to beat a keeper of Donnarumma’s wingspan. PSG have been slick and dangerous, largely because of their work in midfield, supplemented by Dembélé dropping in too. Arsenal have been far too open and their midfield doesn’t seem to be able to get a grip and consequently they are yielding too much space.
08:49 PM BST
45 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Fine save from Donnarumma low to his right after Martinelli steps in off the left wing and bends a shot that was arrowing towards the bottom left off his right instep. The Euro 2020 hero got down smartly to smack it away.
08:47 PM BST
43 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Poor refereeing to book Saka when he was battling Mendes for the ball and the left-back fell over after the softest of touches. Within a minute Hakimi joins him in the book, this one justified for hacking down Timber’s surge.
08:45 PM BST
41 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal are gaining a foothold and a long free-kick is hooked by Merino towards Trossard who flicks it tamely at Donnarumma.
The old-school Englishman in me thinks that Arsenal would benefit from simply smashing into little Vitinha and/or Neves. I suspect someone like Rice would quite like to do just that, to be honest. The problem is that Arsenal have struggled to get close enough to make such a challenge.
The tide is starting to turn, though. Saka is seeing more of the ball. Arsenal are pushing forward. The crowd are feeling it again.
08:43 PM BST
39 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Magnificent from Saka with his control and footwork down the left until he accelerates past Hakimi and stands up a cross to the back post. Martinelli ghosts in but is a fair way behind the wall so lunges at it by throwing himself horizontally at it but it squirts off his toe out towards the corner flag.
08:41 PM BST
37 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Brilliant tackle from Joao Neves just as Merino was about to pull the trigger in the box, left of centre. The referee confuses everyone by pointing to the ball, presumably meaning ‘he got the ball’ but because it was spinning towards the penalty spot the Arsenal fans, staff and players thought he was signalling for a penalty. The use of two hands rather than one would have made that a little clearer.
A fairly feeble chant of “you don’t know what you’re doing” is aimed towards referee Slavko Vincic as he neglects to award a penalty for Joao Neves’ challenge on Mikel Merino. But replays, clearly showing Neves take the ball, confirm that on this occasion, the Slovenian official very much did know.
08:39 PM BST
35 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Lewis-Skelly, who is playing well, earns a free-kick when he dips his shoulder to dart inside Joao Neves and protects the ball with his body. The Portugal midfielder telescopes his leg across to trip him up. Free-kick, 30 yards out, 10 in from the touchline. Odegaard can’t beat the first man.
08:36 PM BST
33 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Very good save from Raya low to his left, iron wrist and palm after Doué had thumped a right-foot shot having spun in off the left wing between Timber and Merino. Ruiz tried to gobble up the rebound but was offside, Raya turns to the stand behind his goal and tries to rouse the crowd by raising his hands, demanding more.
08:33 PM BST
31 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
It’s hardly a revolutionary idea but Arsenal’s lack of an even remotely orthodox forward threat is letting Marquinhos and Pacho play out with comfort.
I can’t recall an Arsenal game in recent seasons in which Arteta’s team have been so unable to get on the ball and play their passing game. After 21 minutes they had completed only 32 passes. In that same time, PSG completed 134.
08:30 PM BST
29 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Now Arsenal work the ball to Trossard in an almost identical mirror position to that Kvaratskhelia effort and he too smacks his shot straight at the keeper.
08:29 PM BST
27 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Odegaard, Rice and Merino were trying to work a triangle 30 yards from goal to send Rice down the right but Merino’s heavy touch concedes possession and PSG break at speed, working the ball over to Kvaratskhelia to step in off the left wing and ping a shot too close to Raya.
08:27 PM BST
25 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
The home crowd is in better spirits, buoyed by a forceful but fair Saliba tackle on Dembélé.
08:26 PM BST
23 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Lewis-Skelly tackles Hakimi and squeezes past him so Hakimi legs him up. Arsenal free-kick 45 yards out. Odegaard stans over it and floats it into the box for Kiwior to flick toewards goal from 15 yards but without the power to beat Donnarumma.
08:24 PM BST
21 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Better from Arsenal, though it ends with a PSG free-kick for Merino and Kiwior sandwiching Ruiz as they tried to converge on Odegaard’s cross after slick work from Saka down the right.
08:22 PM BST
19 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal still struggling for fluency and when they lose the ball up top, Timber is penalised for clipping Kvaratskhelia’s heels on halfway as the winger tried to roll him. The referee calls the captains over to tell them to have a word with their players and their histrionics. Odegaard could d with more of the ball.
08:20 PM BST
17 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Kvaratskhelia wants a penalty when he hits the deck after Timber wraps his arm round his waist on the left of the box but the referee is having none of it and there. He chases the referee to press his case but it makes no difference. Mark Clattenburg says that deserves a yellow card as it was blatant dissent.
Should PSG have been awarded a penalty here? 🤔#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/lLUucGsT40
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
08:18 PM BST
14 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Marqunhos flashes a header straight down Raya’s throat from a corner on the left earned by Kvaratskhelia’s dazzling feet. They switch it to Hakimi to cross but the PSG captain can only direct it towards the middle of goal.
A remarkable goal from Dembele for PSG. Clearly the ball from Dembele to Kvaratskehlia and then his directness and pass were outstanding. But the passing sequence that preceded it was brilliant. Arsenal just could not win it back.
08:14 PM BST
12 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Some disquiet in the home crowd at the sheer number of passes PSG are stringing together unmolested. The hardcore try to rally the players with cries of ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal’.
08:13 PM BST
10 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal corner on the left after good defending from Marquinhos as Martinelli dribbled up the wing. Rice whips it deep to the back post, looking for Saka who nods it back across but PSG clear and send Hakimi off on a break. Trossard shoves him over on halfway and is booked somewhat harshly.
Several pink flares have been lit in a febrile Paris St-Germain end. Par for the course at Parc des Princes, but a few Emirates stewards are wading into the crowd to extinguish them.
08:10 PM BST
7 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 1
Arsenal’s midfield is not alert enough and PSG are hogging possession. Need to get a few tackles in.
Remarkable start by PSG. Not only have Arsenal conceded, they have also barely touched the ball. They are not used to trailing in this competition (they had been ahead on the scoreboard in 53% of their match time in Europe until tonight). This is a different challenge now.
08:05 PM BST
GOAL!
Arsenal 0 PSG 1 (Dembélé) PSG were sweeping the ball around with ease at the back until Mendes fizzed a daisycutter of a diagonal to Dembélé in the centre-circle. He turns and takes the ball forward, tacking left and feeds Kvaratskhelia who runs at Timber then picks out Dembélé, who had halted his burst by the 18-yard line. He has all the space he needs to crash a left-foot shot in off the right post.
WHAT A STRIKE FROM OUSMANE DEMBELE 💥
PSG go ahead quickly at the Emirates thanks to the Frenchman’s goal#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/hZe3vSLIhO
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
08:04 PM BST
3 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 0
Mendes lets a pass under pressure roll out for a throw and sends it back to Pacho, prompting Arsenal to press high. Hakimi tries to break it with a clipped ball up the right but there’s no blue shirt there and Lewis-Skelly runs it down.
There is a huge effort by both Mikel Arteta and the stadium announcer to orchestrate a display of unparalleled passion inside the Emirates. But aside from the giant red tifo, the more impressive choreography arguably comes courtesy of the Paris St Germain ultras, whose co-ordinated applause is relentless. They rival Real Madrid’s ‘Grada fans’, aka the ‘white wall’, for intimidation factor.
08:02 PM BST
1 min: Arsenal 0 PSG 0
PSG kick off, attacking from right to left. The atmosphere is electric and the manager’s invitation to head very ball with the players, metaphorically, has been eagerly embraced.
08:01 PM BST
But first…
A minute’s silence for Pope Francis, “a man of justice and peace”.
07:59 PM BST
Out come the teams
Arsenal in red and white with that odd touch of navy, PSG in their fourth kit, mainly navy with white swirls on their sleeves They could have worn their home shirts or their pink third strip.
07:55 PM BST
The players are in the tunnel
And it’s time for The Angel, which will be followed by:
Ce sont les meilleures équipes
Sie sind die allerbesten Mannschaften
The main event
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
07:48 PM BST
Declan Rice’s words in the warm-up huddle
“If we don’t have the ball we’ll die.”
Wayne Rooney points out that there will be times home and away when they won’t have the ball and the key is staying together and compact when they don’t.
07:39 PM BST
Heating up
07:26 PM BST
Alex Aljoe catches up with David Raya
Can Arsenal add another clean sheet to their total tonight? 🚫#UCLonPrime | @alexaljoepic.twitter.com/eusmM7OoPv
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
07:15 PM BST
A message from Anne Hathaway
07:12 PM BST
Arsène Wenger is at the Emirates tonight
And has embraced some former colleagues and members of staff before taking the lift to his seat.
Arsène Wenger is in the building 🤩#UCLonPrimepic.twitter.com/Jjzv4Cu7i8
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025
07:08 PM BST
Mikel Arteta speaks to Amazon’s Logan, Walcott and Seedorf
There’s excitement. It’s a big game, a big night for us and an opportunity to make the next step.
We have to generate one of the most amazing nights the stadium has seen.
The game is about passion, energy and connections with people. When you have that, and you can feel it on the pitch, we know what a difference it can make.
In June we started to prepare for moments like this and now we have to deliver it.
Just express yourself and go for it.
The team look ready. Of course there will be difficult moments, we are prepared for that.
Adapt to any context; any context is good for us. Live it, embrace it, and then you have to earn the right to win the game. In order to achieve that, every individual has to step up.
06:58 PM BST
Then and now
When these two teams met in October, the difference in physical stature was one of the most striking aspects of the match. Arsenal bullied PSG, winning battles across the pitch and generally outmuscling their opponents.
Can they do so again tonight? Well, it might not be so straightforward. In that October contest, Arsenal had Gabriel Magalhaes, Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz in their team. They are three of Arsenal’s most physically imposing players, and they are all missing through injury tonight. Jakub Kiwior, Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard simply do not possess the same muscularity and physical intensity.
06:57 PM BST
Your teams in the trad style
Arsenal Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
PSG Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz; Kvaratskehlia, Dembélé, Doué.
Substitutes Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, L Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)
06:55 PM BST
PSG Team news
Doué replaces Barcola:
🎙️⚽️ L’avant match Arsenal FC 🆚 Paris Saint-Germain en direct 🔴🔵 https://t.co/ATKUrI72Kq
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 29, 2025
06:50 PM BST
Arsenal team news: Trossard up front, Merino in midfield
06:36 PM BST
PSG arrive in N5/N7
Ils arrivent… 🌋🔥#ARSPSG | #UCLpic.twitter.com/okt1CLCiKT
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 29, 2025
06:34 PM BST
Anne Hathaway, Dua Lipa and Beyonce’s support is so important to Arsenal and PSG
If Declan Rice’s free-kicks were the two most eye-catching moments of Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid, then Anne Hathaway’s subsequent show of support might have been a close third. The Hollywood actress celebrated Arsenal’s first-leg victory with an unexpected rendition of The Angel, the club’s anthem.
Hathaway’s performance, shared on her social media, prompted almost as many headlines as Rice’s match-winning brace. A few weeks earlier, her post about Bukayo Saka’s return from injury generated two million likes on Instagram, which was twice as many as Saka and Arsenal’s own posts combined. Arsenal are a big deal but Hathaway, it seems, is even bigger.
06:31 PM BST
How will Arsenal adapt in Partey’s absence?
Across two legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal’s players made only two notable errors. The first was Bukayo Saka’s missed penalty in the Santiago Bernabeu. The second was Thomas Partey’s inexplicable decision to shove Dani Ceballos, the Madrid midfielder, in the chest in the final minutes of the game.
Of those two mistakes, Partey’s was by far the most significant. It earned him the most needless of yellow cards — picked up in the 85th minute, with the aggregate score at 5-1 — and meant that he will be suspended from Tuesday’s semi-final first leg between Arsenal and Paris St-Germain.
For a player of Partey’s experience (he turns 32 in June and has made more than 400 senior club appearances) it was an astonishingly mindless move. The fear for Arsenal is that it could prove to be costly, too. Not only because Mikel Arteta will be without Partey on Tuesday, but also because his absence likely necessitates a shift in attack and midfield.
In the moments following Partey’s yellow in Spain, he was grabbed by a furious Declan Rice. Anger etched all over Rice’s face, the England midfielder screamed at his team-mate. It does not require a professional lip-reader to see that “you’re getting banned” were among the words that Rice used.
It should be no surprise that Rice was fuming. Of all the Arsenal players, he will probably be the most impacted by Partey’s carelessness. The expectation is that Rice will now have to drop into the deeper midfield position, playing as a “No 6” rather than as an all-action box-to-box player. Having so impressively demonstrated his all-round qualities against Madrid, Rice will now be forced to play a far more cautious game against PSG.
The secondary impact is on Mikel Merino. Arsenal’s emergency striker has been remarkably effective as a centre-forward in European games but now, with Rice moving into a deeper role, will likely have to drop into the left side of the midfield three. Arsenal have therefore had to alter the positions of arguably their two best players of the quarter-final against Madrid.
Why would playing Merino in his natural midfield position be a problem? Well, Arsenal have spent the last few months adjusting to the Spaniard as their focal point in attack. He has been studying hard, learning the patterns and movements required to be a striker. Since moving to an attacking role in February, he has scored six goals and registered four assists.
Now, Merino must seamlessly adjust to his previous role. He did so promisingly against Ipswich Town earlier this month but has since picked up an injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to start on Tuesday night.
PSG’s midfield trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz are supreme technicians. Can Arsenal bully them again, as they did in October’s 2-0 victory, with Rice playing in a restrained role? Can Merino re-adjust to his old role against elite opposition? These questions could define the tie.
05:52 PM BST
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05:50 PM BST
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05:47 PM BST
Preview: the holy grail
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Paris St-Germain from Emirates Stadium. This is the ‘have-not’ semi-final between two clubs who have yet to win ‘Old Big Ears’ but both have been runners-up and would fancy their chances of clinching their ‘holy grail’ at the Allianz Arena on May 31 of becoming maiden winners of the tournament like Manchester City in 2023, Chelsea in 2012 and Borussia Dortmund in 1997.
This is Arsenal’s third semi-final appearance in this competition with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Villarreal to take them to Stade de France in 2006 tempered by the 4-1 defeat by Manchester United three years later. For PSG this is a fifth visit to the last four, winning once in a one-off semi during the pandemic when they beat RB Leipzig 3-0, in the credit column and 3-0 defeats by Milan in 1995, 4-1 by Man City in 2021 and, most crushingly, 2-0 by Dortmund last year on the debit side.
Arsenal have beaten PSG in a European semi-final before, winning 2-1 on aggregate, the late Kevin Campbell scoring the only goal at Highbury in 1994 after a 1-1 draw at Parc des Princes to send them on to Copenhagen, minus Ian Wright, their goalscorer in Paris, who was booked in the second leg and banned for the semi-final, where, in one of the greatest defensive displays this observer has seen, they prevailed 1-0 against the Parma of Gianfranco Zola, Tomas Brolin, Faustino Asprilla and Nestor Sensini to win the Cup Winners’ Cup.
They also saw them off in the group stage of this season’s competition with a 2-0 victory in North London by virtue of goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. This is a different PSG, though. Luis Enrique dropped Ousmane Dembélé for that match and used Lee Kang-in as a false nine instead to punish the France forward’s indolent intensity. That rocket has transformed Dembélé who now has 32 goals in all competitions and forms a fluid forward line with Bradley Barcola (18 goals) and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the January signing from Napoli called ‘prime Eden Hazard’ by Thierry Henry.
PSG are at full strength while Arsenal have lost Thomas Partey to suspension following his foolish booking at the Bernabéu. Ben White and Mikel Merino sat out last week’s draw with Crystal Palace but should be available tonight while Havertz is making good progress and may be back for the second leg of the semi-final and the final, a stage he has conquered before, should they get there. But Messrs Tomiyasu, Gabriel and Gabriel Jesus are out for the season while Jorginho and Calafiori are still a week or so away.
