Arsenal continued their stellar display this season with a 2-0 victory over the French champions - Paris Saint-German on Tuesday 1st October, 2024. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka struck in the first half to mark the Gunners' first win in the 2024/25 Champions League campaign, and they're first in the newly introduced UCL League phase. Mikel Arteta and the Gunners extend their unbeaten run this season to eleven games, showing how much growth and class the team has experienced since the Spaniard took over in 2019. The Gunners were held on to a goalless draw at the Gewiss Staium by last season’s UEFA Europa League winners - Atlanta in September to claim their first point in the 2024/25 UCL League phase.
The first and only time the two heavy-weight European contenders (Arsenal vs. PSG) faced off at the competition was in the 2016/17 season, just after Mikel Arteta retired as a professional player in Arsenal and joined Manchester City as an assistant coach to Pep Gladiola. Both Group stage games ended in draws (Group A - Matchday 1 & 5) with both teams going through to the Round of 16, where they were eliminated by Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively.
Mikel Arteta welcomed his former Barcelona teammate - Luis Enrique, who has served as the head coach at PSG since July 2023. The game at the Emirates Stadium was welcomed by passionate fans from both teams raining down the Champions League energy at the heart of North London. Mikel Arteta did not change his starting line-up from the Premier League game against Leicester City on Saturday but adjusted the 4-4-2 formation to a dynamic 4-2-3-1. On the other hand, PSG introduced Vintinha, Nuno Mendes, and Desire Doue to the starting eleven following Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Rennes. Based on the French club’s disciplinary response to misconduct, French winger and key PSG player - Ousmane Dembele was sidelined ahead of the game. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma returned to the PSG lineup after missing the last three games due to a thigh injury.
The match showed exceptional talent from both sides, but Arsenal found their footing at home to beat the visitors in the first half of the game. Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli created the first opportunity of the game with barely three minutes played, his effort was stopped by Donnarumma before Bukayo Saka, who wore the captain band, tried to bend one from the edge of the box - but saw his effort fly high and away from the target. Kai Havertz scored his fifth goal of the season to open the scoring 20 minutes into the game. The German who scored the winning goal in the weekend perfectly timed his run to head in a pinpoint cross from Leandro Trossard, beating the on-rushing Donnarumma at his near post.
The French side revolted immediately with Nuno Mendes striking wide before David Raya was called to action by Achraf Hakimi’s effort. The game seemed to fall back in place for the troubled Parisioners before a second blow put them more distant from a compensating reward. Saka’s freekick from the near touchline was the deciding goal for the Gunners who held on tight to seal the victory at the Emirates. The English winger's spinning cross into the box evaded on-rushing Gunner’s and Les Blues to find its way at the back of the net to mark the 451st goal in Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta’s era.
The second half came with more opportunities than the first but both teams failed to make the most of the opportunities. Arsenal came firing after the break but was unable to extend their lead five minutes in with Martinelli placing a worked effort to Donnarumma’s claim. Kai Havertz also failed to make the most of Martinelli’s cross before Luis Enrique’s side began dominating most of the half. The French side nearly pulled one back from Joao Neves's effort from a corner which bounced off the tuff before hitting the crossbar. Gabriel Martinelli was at the wasteful end again after failing to seal Gunner’s victory in the 75th with a flimsy shot saved by the opponent’s Italian goal-stopper.
Arsenal claimed their first UCL win after the final whistle went off, to be level on points with the Paris champions who beat Spanish side Girona in their first UCL game. They will still battle Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Sporting CP, Monaco, Dinamo Zagreb, and Girona for a spot in the UCL knock-out stages. The Gunners return to Premier League action on Saturday against a newly-promoted Southampton side, who has claimed only one point in six games.
Bukayo Saka leading the team to victory in his first UCL game with the captain band feels surreal for a teenager who played for the club’s academy a few years back. Speaking to Amazon on his experience through the game, he said: “I have done a lot in my career, but to wear the armband and play with the team on a night like this and win, it's incredible, I can't put it into words. I will keep the armband and cherish this night!” More concerns for Arsenal as Julien Timber was withdrawn after half-time in what would be checked thoroughly for a potential muscle tear. Arsenal remains without captain Martin Odegaard who suffered from an ankle injury during international duties with Norway. Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, and Oleksandr Zinchenko remain unfit for games with not-assuring return dates.
PSG suffered at the right wing without the expertise of Ousmane Dembele. Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-in played full-time and had nothing to show for it. For a team that made it to the semi-finals of the competition last season, a lot is expected of Luis Enrique’s side which is learning to fare without their all-time goal scorer - Kylian Mbappe. They return to League 1 action on Sunday for a nail-biting encounter with Nice.
Upcoming Arsenal Games
Saturday 5th October (Premier League) - Arsenal vs Southampton (15:00) Saturday 19th October (Premier League) - Bournemouth vs Arsenal (17:30) Tuesday 22nd October (UEFA Champions League) - Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk (20:00) Sunday 27th October (Premier League) - Arsenal vs Liverpool (16:30) Wednesday 30th October (Carabao Cup) - Preston North End vs Arsenal (19:45) Saturday 2nd November (Premier League) - Newcastle United vs Arsenal (12:30) Wednesday 6th November (UEFA Champions League) - Inter Milan vs Arsenal (20:00) Sunday 10th November (Premier League) - Chelsea vs Arsenal (16:30) Saturday 23rd November (Premier League) - Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest (15:00) Tuesday 26th November (UEFA Champions League) - Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal (20:00) Saturday 30th November (Premier League) - West Ham United vs Arsenal (17:30) Tuesday 3rd December (Premier League) - Arsenal vs Manchester United (19:45) Saturday 7th December (Premier League) - Fulham vs Arsenal (15:00)
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