Paris Saint-Germain scored a goal that could have been avoided during their Champions League clash with Arsenal two nights ago. The Gunners had welcomed the French side to the Emirates with high expectations, buoyed by their earlier triumph over Real Madrid. Supporters and players alike hoped to replicate that success and take a decisive lead in the first leg of the semi-final.
However, those ambitions were quickly dampened when PSG struck inside the opening four minutes. Ousmane Dembélé silenced the home crowd with a well-taken finish that ultimately proved decisive, as neither side managed to score again for the remainder of the match. The early setback leaves Arsenal with a challenging task ahead as they prepare for the second leg in Paris, where they will need a victory to book a place in the final.
Upon reviewing the match, it has become clear that the goal was the result of a lapse in defensive discipline that could have been avoided. Danny Murphy, writing in the Daily Mail, offered a detailed breakdown of the sequence that led to the goal, pointing out where Arsenal’s midfield failed to manage the threat. Murphy stated, “It was when the ball was then spread by Dembele to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left that things went wonky.
“I can fully understand Rice’s desire to go over and help team-mate Jurrien Timber, such is ‘Kvaradona’s’ reputation, but he got it wrong on this occasion.
“He went over too far and left Dembele free in the middle. Merino was not blameless, either. He should have smelt the danger and got closer to the forward when Rice left him.
“All of a sudden, Dembele had space. He converted the chance and that spread doubt and nerves through the Arsenal ranks that lasted for half-an-hour.”
Murphy’s analysis underscores just how fine the margins are at this advanced stage of European competition. A brief moment of misjudgement or positional error can alter the course of a match and, potentially, an entire campaign. Arsenal must learn from this lapse and avoid similar moments of lost concentration in the second leg. The stakes are higher than ever, and only a disciplined, focused performance will give them a realistic chance of reaching the Champions League final.
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This seems a good analysis. I do think most dms would have moved across as rice did, and he needed support from merino. I think had it been partey in DM and rice at LCM, rice would have smelt the danger and come across to dembele, as Murphy said.
This goal was NOTHING to do with injuries but plain bag team work. Midfield had done a dissappearing act. Dembele (their main goal threat) was just on his own in acres of space. Naive and rank bad coaching and team work.
The analysis by Murphy is an accurate reflection of what took place but what he failed to pick up on was the fact that both Rice and Merino were unable to play in their usual roles due to the absence of Partey.We were caught cold and for the first 30 mins we were decidedly second best.Thereafter, Timber in particular seemed to gain confidence and was able to subdue the dangerous Kvaratskh elia without have to resort to fouling.The match was pretty even for the last hour, but of course the damage had been done.Had Gabriel, Havertz and Partey been available to combat what was a full strength PSG,i am pretty sure we would have won the match.
Most on here are so hung up on excuses and the blame game, that even though they watched the match, they still missed the big picture. PSG tactically outplayed us and we didn’t have an answer for it. Pure and simple. Had the manger watched how they beat Liverpool and Villa, he would have seen how PSG tactically drew their opponents midfield out of position to create the spaces they needed. Arteta needs to come up with a plan B.
With respect NYG, i am not making excuses merely stating what i believe to be a major factor on why we were very slow out of the traps.In tactical terms we seemed to lack a plan as to who should pick up the deep lying Dembele who has turned out to be a formidible player.
@Grandad
I was not pointing a finger at you. I simply stated tactically we were outplayed. Our midfield was pulled out of position and it doesn’t matter who would have picked up Dembele. Because that player would have left an exploitable space a PSG player would have floated into. They played the same way against Liverpool and Villa. Difference being Villa copped on, albeit a bit too late for it to count.
Here’s the thing. It would be useful if people would be more balanced in their criticisms. It is a reasonable point to make that we were caught out tactically in the first 20 minutes or so of the game. This is what allowed Dembele the free shot which he scored. Even then there was an element of fortune about the goal. It was Dembele’s only real chance of the game and whilst he took it very well it wasn’t really a high probability scoring opportunity.
Arsenal made in-game adjustments which is why the game became more balanced later on.
Some fans are far too interested in running down the club than any kind of sensible analysis.
Are you sure mate people are just not being sensitive
For example I don’t think Arteta needs to lose his job or anything but you have to call what you see
I don’t think some fans only want to hear that we are the best in the world and everything is great
Like I said the other day , some were saying Nwaneri was more siiful then Lemal and that Havertz would score more then Halland
Is that more damaging ?
Vice versa some fans only want to hear criticism about the team or the coach(which some clearly have some hatred toward).
Like it should be ok to criticize Arteta for not pushing for a striker last summer or the one before buying Havertz instead of one. But it should also be ok to defend Arteta and criticize the upper management for not doing their job when our manager openly stated we needed help in January. The bloody world saw it even my dog knew.
Yeah but the difference Arteta / Arsenal are not judged when we don’t win things
Some make act out that Arteta has won the Prem and still fans complain
Extremists are the worst on Both sides
Why not focus on this game and let’s have a discussion.
I have indicated that PSG were better for the early part of the game.
Let me ask you these:
Did Arsenal make any tactical adjustments?
Were there any changes to the flow of the game?
Was Dembele’s chance the only real chance he had? Was it a great chance in itself?
Were Arsenal outplayed throughout the game?
Was the balance of good chances similar for both teams?
@David
There is no anti Arteta agenda in what I stated. And we did not adjust tactically to their tactic. They did the same thing repeatedly throughout the match, drawing our players out of position and exploiting the spaces. We were left playing “fill the gaps”. Our defence and Raya saved our bacon.
We didn’t adjust because there was no options on the bench to change up that disbalanced and dysfunctional midfield which was overwhelmed by Psg’s. Partey absence messed up multiple positions as we lost Rice marauding runs and Merino outlet to bypass their pressing. I am no coach but i clearly saw one way to dominate Psg midfield is to run at n through their midfield and make them hesitate to high press by playing over the press, all of which were neutered by having to compensate for Partey stupidity.
I don’t know if we will qualify but pretty confident we’ll see a diff match next week with everyone in their right position, a much better Arsenal. That left side with Skelly and Rice wrecking their pressing with powerful runs will be a game changer.
But David, you are one of the least balanced on here.
No Reggie he is the one and only .
He’s cringe AF
As much as I’m 98%sure Thirdman is back on here (lucy78😉)
I’m 100% sure 🤡David is either a troll or Arteta himself .
Vile supporter IMO
Dan
It’s rare for those types of comparisons to appear and those that do are infrequent or once only posters. Even the most ardent Arteta/Arsenal admirers could not think that remarks of that sort hold water.
I’ve written very little in the way of post match comments. I can understand the disappointment – we all feel it – and there a number of factors imo that played their part.
I remember Rice going potty that Partey got a yellow card. An important player and one more unavailable to play against PSG. The camera showed our crocked players – Calafiori and Havertz plus Gabby in the stands so to lose one from a self inflicted heads gone was stupid.
The goal being scored so early gave the impetus to PSG and anybody who’s followed Arsenal at home fixtures knows how quickly the tension becomes palpably intense and you can hear the proverbial pin drop afterwards. David is right that we were under the cosh and rightly said it wasn’t like that all the time, although PSG had the confidence that in many ways our team didn’t show and they came close to a bigger victory.
Odegaard has been singled out and he wasn’t and hasn’t been at his best by any means, but as has been pointed out there seems to be painkilling injections to keep him fit enough to play. I’m not being pro Odegaard but on a night like Tuesday, it would have been an incredible decision by Arteta to drop him in favour of Nwaneri. Much was made of Arteta being slow to bring on fresh legs but the bench was wafer thin although I think he should have tried to ring the changes sooner.
When push came to shove, the opening 25 ish minutes set the tone of the game. My hope is that Arteta and his back room staff will have learned a thing or two and now that the players have faced PSG, a different team mentally takes to the field next week.
But also Sue I have not seen many remarks this week that have been over the top ?
Literally only people responding to things like this is a successful season or he should be applauded for being 2nd
Dan
That last sentence was you at your best 😁
What constitutes a successful season?
Finishing first in everything swiftly followed by finishing second in everything? That’s my guess.
You have given a lot of your time criticising Kroenke. I have given a lot of my time considering the effects of long term injuries to the squad that have stretched throughout the season
Combine both and add a bit of criticism here and there for our leader getting tactics etc wrong and you have a good reason why Liverpool have finished with one trophy, Newcastle have won the least valued cup and any one of City, Palace , Spuds, Utd and Chelsea – as well as Arsenal have a shot in Europe or the FACup. For the first time in a while, City haven’t swept up.
When there is an opinion put forward that our season has been “successful” where do you put the others – in front of us? Or in the cold light of day, will they be behind us , who will be finishing creditably in the CL and at this point being ahead of the pack who didn’t catch Liverpool either? It’s an important consideration when deciding who are winners and losers. I’ve read ad nauseum how great Emery is. He signed all and sundry in January and he may squeak into a CL spot and yet Arteta gets the bird from all and sundry
What constitutes a successful season?
For a club our size ?
Trophies
Our owners said that
I don’t rate Emery
Although I would sense Aston Villa have a different expectation to Arsenal as they were in Championship a few seasons ago ?
That begs the question, do you think that Newcastle winning the Carrier Bag cup beats a good run in the CL and a high league position? Or Spurs winning the EL but finishing possibly 25 points behind us and in the doldrums?
I do find it interesting that you are one of the only people I have come across on JA who are not overly enamoured with Emery. It is well documented that I haven’t been and added to that, I do not get the impression that Villa intend to sit in mid table mediocrity. They have been spending so I think their expectations are higher than you maybe giving them credit for
Oh I hated him Sue
Only time I watched Arsenal and didn’t know what the actual plan was
SueP,
For me if Odegaard is getting injections to allow him to play that’s an absolute joke.
If he’s not fit then don’t play him. It’s not as if he’s contributing to the team anyway.
And further more, he could be storing up more problems with his ankle injury, by playing.
With all the injury’s we’ve got is it really good management to risk losing a so called key player, because as far as I’m concerned he’s neither a key player and he certainly shouldn’t be club captain.
To keep playing with the injury is both not good for him or the team.
But I guess it gives the Odegaard fans the perfect excuse to clear him of his more than average performances.
Derek
I doubt Odegaard is the only player in the Prem who is receiving injections to enable them to play. Not an ideal situation but all I suggested was that the experience Odegaard has, would – imo – place him above Nwaneri on the night. Both he and MLS have stepped up and I’m surprised that Skelly has been so effective. He has played regularly and EN hasn’t. That is really what my comments were about
I’ve been a long term admirer of MO and hope he can revive his talent for next season. However, I don’t think he’s been as bad as has been painted.
Odegaard is not having a great season. However, he remains one of our most important players. It would be a huge gamble to leave him out of the team at this stage of the CL.
It’s difficult to see any reasonable manager leaving him out unless he is unfit.
SueP,
I stand by my stance regarding playing Odegaard if injured. Injections or no injections it’s ridiculous to keep playing him. He’s not being the creative player that we need and he lorded up to be.
I would rather have a player who’s fit, than constantly play a player who needs the help of injections to play. At a push if it’s short term, then maybe. But with Odegaard it appears to have been going on for months, because he’s hardly contributing in most games.
Unless you call running around a lot and being good at the press, or waving his arms about. Come on, he’s the club captain. We need more than that.
And if he is still carrying the ankle injury, he should not be playing its that simple.
He can’t keep playing and when he’s not playing well, we have the injury used as an excuse. If he’s not fit, then don’t play him. Plain and simple.
Second paragraph Derek ,literally puts the Arteta weirdo club in their places .
Nothing more nothing less .
I do not agree with Dan Murphy. Can’t fault Rice for going over to help Timber. That was his job.
Truth of the matter is, Arsenal committed too many players forward to press PSG and left acres of wide open spaces in the middle.
For the next game we need to avoid leaving empty spaces in our midfield…by playing more compacted in defence.
@Rfrancis
In essence he is saying that PSG dragged us out of position. Which was their tactic. Had we held our shape, we would have avoided the whole mess. The very same tactic worked against Liverpool and Villa. Emery copped on in the second leg. But didn’t do enough to overturn the goal aggregate.
NYG
Does the fact that Emery caught on give you any hope that Arteta will?
If you watched Villa game second leg, PSG overran them the first half like they did to us. PSG normally put off the gas the last half hour in their games which may give us hope