Can Arsenal make it to the Champions League final?

Karan Ahgun

— 2 min read
Can Arsenal make it to the Champions League final?

Tuesday night. 8 pm. Emirates Stadium. Champions League Semi-Final. "Bring your boots". A 4th minute Dembélé goal and PSG win the 1st leg of this semi-final. Arsenal have a big task on their hands next week at the Parc des Princes to get past this impressive PSG team. So what can they change to be victorious?

Mikel Arteta said that Arsenal will need to "do something special" in Paris next week if they want to be playing in the Champions League final. Whilst PSG were impressive in the first half, Arsenal did have a couple of gilt-edged opportunities to, at the minimum, draw the tie. Both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard spurred their one-on-one chances which many would have expected them to finish. It showed that Arsenal are able to open this PSG team up and they should take the positives of that into the second leg. Arteta believes that his team were unlucky not to get at least a draw in this game but Luis Enrique and his team would say that they were unlucky not to have scored at least 3 goals. Both Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos missed their one-on-ones in the latter stages of the match.

The big change that Arsenal will be able to make in the 2nd leg of the tie is being able to push Mikel Merino back into the striker position and bringing Thomas Partey back into the midfield. Another positive of bringing Partey back is that it allows Declan Rice to move further up the pitch and he can try to emulate his performances against Real Madrid. Rice has proved to be more effective that Martin Ødegaard in an attacking sense for most of this season and the Arsenal captain has received more criticism for his lack of impact recently. Some Arsenal fans have questioned Ødegaard's form since his comeback from an ankle injury but his performance in the 1st leg was noticeably below par. At just 1-0, the second-leg is set up to produce an entertaining match as both teams will be desperate to reach the final and have a chance to win their first Champions League title.

Arsenal will go to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night with the aim of overturning the 1-0 deficit as soon as possible and the key will be to score an early goal. A potential injury to Ousmane Dembélé could significantly weaken PSG and a fast start by Arsenal will really test PSG's newfound resilience.

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