WeeklySA_AdminCONFIDENCE INTACT: More luck in front of goal could be the difference in the French capital on Wednesday
By Sports Reporter
Despite Arsenal heading to Paris for their Uefa Champions League semi-finals second leg 1-0 behind, Mikel Arteta is full of confidence that the Gunners can still make it to the final in Munich at the end of May.
Arsenal couldn’t recover from Ousmane Dembele’s early goal that settled the game at Emirates Stadium, despite carving out some big opportunities but finding PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in inspired form and having a Mikel Merino header ruled out by VAR.
However, the midweek display has kept Mikel’s confidence of progressing to a second-ever final intact, and he feels that some more luck in front of goal could be the difference in the French capital on Wednesday.
“It’s just half-time, I said exactly the same message after beating Real Madrid 3-0 at home,” Mikel said post-match.
“We go to Paris to win, and I fully believe that we can do it. It was only two weeks ago that we went to the Bernabeu and beat the reigning European champions Real Madrid in one of the toughest venues to get a result in world football.
That win, coupled with some other impressive results on our travels around the continent this season, will fuel us with confidence to do it again, and Mikel believes that winning in the Parc des Princes is the kind of statement a side dreaming of becoming European champions has to achieve on the way to glory.
“That’s what we have to do,” he added. “If you want to win the Champions League or be in the final, you have to do something exceptional in the tournament at some point. That’s what we have to now plan and do when we get to Paris in a few days.
Some key points from the semi-final first leg;
Digging in the visitors started like a train, and the first 15 minutes was virtually one-way traffic. Their third-minute goal from Ousmane Dembele was the earliest Arsenal had ever conceded in any Champions League knockout stage game.
But in the final 15 minutes of the first Arsenal created better chances, and began to turn the tide, despite some frustrating officiating, with several decisions going against them.
Arsenal came out for the second half determined to carry on the momentum from the end of the first, and won a free-kick for a foul on Merino within 20 seconds of the restart. Rice swung the set piece in, Merino himself headed home, but although the goal was given on the field, it was ruled out after a VAR check.
Like at the Bernabeu two weeks ago, the VAR review took an age, but this time not only did it go against them, but threatened to kill their growing momentum.
Despite the deflated feeling around the stadium at full-time, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of their return to Paris on Wednesday.
Their away form in Europe this season is excellent. Won each of our last four away games in the Champions League, scoring 16 goals in the process and only conceded more than once on the road in any of their last 10 European matches.
As for PSG, they have already lost twice at home in the Champions League – against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, and also fell to defeat last time out at the Parc de Princes in Ligue 1, losing 3-1 to Nice.
“You want to win the Champions League, be in the final, you have to do something exceptional in the tournament at some point,” Arteta said at full-time.
