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THURSDAY | MAY 1, 2025

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‘Only half-time’ half-time’ Arteta insists Arsenal can ‘do something special’ in second leg

Arsenal’s Mikel Merino (left), Paris Saint-Germain’s Desire Doue (centre) and Jakub Kiwior fight for the ball during their Champions League semifinal first-leg match. – AFPPIC

M IKEL ARTETA insisted Arsenal are capable of producing a special moment to overturn their first-leg defeat against Paris St Germain and reach the Champions League final. Arsenal will head to the French capital next week trailing by a single goal in the last-four fixture after Ousmane Dembele stunned the Emirates when he struck inside four minutes. Although Mikel Merino had a second-half goal ruled out for offside, PSG substitute Goncalo Ramos struck David Raya’s crossbar in the closing minutes and Arteta’s men might count themselves fortunate to still be in the tie. But Arteta said: “We are at half-time, and my message is exactly the same as it was after we beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinal. “We have to go to Paris and win the game, and we are more than capable of doing it. “If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special, and we are going to have to do something special in Paris to be there. We still have a lot of chances to be in that final.” Arsenal secured a comfortable 2-0 win against PSG back in October, but Luis Enrique’s reformed side raced out of the blocks yesterday and totally dominated the majority of the opening period. Arteta said he was forced into a tactical switch, which he would not disclose, midway through the first half, and Arsenal improved with Gabriel Martinelli forcing a fine save from Gianluigi Donnarumma before Merino’s header just 90 seconds after the interval was chalked off by VAR. Leandro Trossard tested Donnarumma again, but Bradley Barcola almost added a second for the visitors with 10 minutes to go when his shot fell narrowly wide and Ramos then struck Raya’s woodwork. “We had two one-on-ones with Donnarumma and if they go in, it is a different story,” added Arteta. “But he made the saves, and that’s the difference in the Champions League. The margins are so small, and it

didn’t go our way.”

“Disappointed with the result,” he said. “We put so much into the game. We struggled in the first 10-15 minutes to get momentum and dominance. Disappointed not to get a draw at least. “That is always the danger, credit to them. They get out of a situation that is close. We had seven players behind the ball and they were clinical, sometimes you just have to recognise the talent of the individual.” Keeper Raya insists Arsenal can still reach the Champions League final despite yesterday’s disappointment. “They started quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15 or 20 minutes but after that we dominated most of the game, created the chances. Donnarumma made some good saves,” Raya said. “It’s only half-time, we take positives. They are a top team but credit to the players for the effort. We could have won the game. “We know they keep possession a lot and are good at that. They had that chance and put it in the net. We had chances to score but we didn’t manage to.” Arsenal failed to score in a home Champions League game for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the last 16 in 2016. It was also their first defeat at the Emirates in 18 European matches. But the north Londoners will have Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey back from suspension for the second leg, which will allow Declan Rice to play a more attacking role. Raya is convinced Arsenal, who knocked out holders Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, can defy the odds again as they bid to reach their second Champions League final and win the tournament for the first time. “We showed from the 25th minute of the first half that we can win against any team. We have showed in the season we can win away games too, so we’ll go to Paris next week trying to win,” he said. “We have to approach the game the same way. We played well, we put them on the back foot and hurt them. Let’s go next week in Paris.” – AFP

Win or bust for Devils

- Story on page 30

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