Ousmane Dembélé’s early goal proved decisive as Paris Saint-Germain secured a crucial 1-0 advantage over Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday night.
PSG, continuing their impressive run against Premier League opposition in this season’s competition, stunned the home crowd by taking the lead in just the fourth minute.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia found Dembélé, who swept a low finish past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya and in off the far post.
Luis Enrique’s side dominated the opening exchanges, with Raya forced into a superb save to deny teenager Désiré Doué shortly after the goal.
Arsenal, competing in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009, gradually grew into the game but found PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in inspired form.
The giant Italian, who was PSG’s hero in previous knockout rounds against Liverpool and Aston Villa, made excellent saves to deny both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal thought they had equalized early in the second half when Mikel Merino headed in from a Declan Rice free-kick, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
Despite Arsenal’s pressure, PSG had chances to extend their lead late on, with substitute Bradley Barcola firing wide and Gonçalo Ramos hitting the crossbar.
The 1-0 victory gives PSG a narrow lead to defend in the second leg at the Parc des Princes in Paris next Wednesday, May 7th.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side now face a significant challenge to turn the tie around and reach the final, which will be held in Munich on May 31st against either Inter Milan or Barcelona.
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