Gary Neville believes Arsenal can turn round their Champions League semi-final deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to progress to the Champions League final – as the French side get “very nervous” for these type of matches.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners go to Paris needing to overturn PSG’s 1-0 win from the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, if they want to reach the Munich final on May 31.
Arsenal lost the first leg thanks to Ousmane Dembele’s fourth-minute opener and while the Gunners saw a Mikel Merino header ruled out for offside, PSG were unlucky not to add to their lead as Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos missed big opportunities.
“Arsenal have got a chance on Wednesday,” says Neville. “It’s a completely different game obviously, it goes without saying. But you can go there and cause some shocks.
“I’ve been there a couple of times and seen Real Madrid win there and I saw Manchester United win there. PSG get very nervous if the wrong things happen for them in that stadium.
“If Arsenal can just hang in there, stay in the game and score a goal – then before you know it, all of a sudden that stadium doesn’t become an asset for PSG, it becomes a problem for them. Because there’s such an expectation on them to get into Champions League finals and win it.
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith and Dougie Critchley explain the scale of Arsenal’s task to overturn their Champions League semi-final deficit to Paris Saint-Germain – and why there’s reason for hope…
“It’s going to be difficult. It was a great performance by PSG at the Emirates, and it wasn’t a great performance by Arsenal the other night. But Arsenal will be better.
“If they can stay into that game in the final 15 to 20 minutes, then they have a chance.”
‘It’s a career-defining game for Arteta’s Arsenal’
Arsenal go into their do-or-die Champions League semi-final second leg in poor form, having failed to win in their last three matches.
On Saturday, Mikel Arteta named a strong team to face Bournemouth – with PSG resting the entire team that played at the Emirates in their defeat to Strasbourg. Arsenal ended up losing 2-1, conceding twice from set-pieces.
Highlights from the Premier League match between Arsenal and Bournemouth.
“I think the worry for Arsenal on Saturday was that they played their strongest side and still lost,” says Neville. “But they’ve got a big game midweek and I genuinely think Arsenal can do it.
In that stadium, there’s such an expectation about PSG and them winning the Champions League and they build themselves up. It’ll be a hostile atmosphere for the first 10-20 minutes and if PSG score, it’ll continue to be hostile because they’ll be right at it.
“However, if you can get a goal – which I think Arsenal definitely can whether it be from a set-piece, a counter-attack, or a bit of brilliance, whatever it might be – I think you can see and feel it change in that stadium.
“I do think they’ll finish the job and finish second in the league. It’s a very big game for Arsenal and it is a season-defining game. It could be career-defining.
“Those types of games – coming back from 1-0 behind away from home against PSG – is something that ultimately, with what they did in the quarter-final against Real Madrid, will be an absolutely incredible achievement.”
Arteta ‘very confident’ of progression to the final
Speaking to Sky Sports, Mikel Arteta insists he’s confident that Arsenal will go to Paris and beat Paris Saint-Germain, to reach the UEFA Champions League final.
Arsenal manager Arteta, meanwhile, believes the hard knocks his team have faced this season have the team in a prime condition to complete a comeback.
The Gunners have picked up multiple long-term injuries this season – with Gabriel, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus currently out and Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard suffering serious mid-season injuries before returning.
“This season is the best example of what this club and team is about,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “The resilience, the character and how we have overcome so many difficult situations.
“Even though we have won a lot of games and are in big games in the biggest competitions, we are still not satisfied.
“The words I would use is ‘win in any context’. That’s what this team is made of. It doesn’t matter what they throw at us, or what happens – we will have the mentality that we’re going to be able to win it and find a way to be better than the opposition. And get the result that we want.”
Asked if he is confident of going through to the final – where they would face one of Barcelona or Inter Milan – Arteta responded: “100 per cent, because we’ve been able to do that – compete.
“And the margins against them [in the first leg] were tiny small. Tiny, tiny, tiny small. I’m very confident that we’re going to do it.”
Merson: Odegaard has to turn up for Arsenal
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson reflects on the Gunners’ 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final and believes the home side looked ‘scared’ in the first leg.
Arsenal will welcome back Thomas Partey to their Champions League squad after he missed the first leg through suspension, but there is concern for Jurrien Timber’s fitness as the Dutchman missed the defeat to Bournemouth.
Sky Sports‘ Paul Merson pointed towards the midfield being a crucial area of the pitch because Partey’s return will allow Declan Rice to play higher up.
The England midfielder scored from an advanced position against Bournemouth on Saturday, but Merson has also called on Martin Odegaard to step up after criticism over his performances.
“They missed Thomas Partey unbelievably. It stopped Declan Rice bombing forward,” said Merson about Arsenal’s first leg defeat.
“Declan’s playing as well as anybody at the moment. He’s bombing forward, making runs, getting into the box. One of their only chances they did have – the Leandro Trossard chance – that was from Declan Rice, making a bursting run. We didn’t get as many of them because of the position he had to play.
“Martin Odegaard will have to turn up. I’m a big fan of Odegaard, but he didn’t perform the other night.
“But they’ve got another chance. They should have been completely blown out of this competition the other night. They had chances, PSG.
“I think it’s down to the first goal. I think if Arsenal score the first goal, that wipes out Tuesday’s performance and it’s game on. But I think if Paris Saint-Germain score first, then I can’t see any way back.
“I know people will say, ‘Well, Villa went 4-1 down’, but Villa were at home. They had nothing to lose. They had a right go, scored two goals in three minutes and they got back in the game.
“People will say, ‘Oh, Arsenal won at the Bernabeu’, but Arsenal won on the last kick of the game with Gabriel Martinelli running away from the defender with a minute to go. If it’s 1-1 at the Parc des Princes, PSG are not going to be playing gung-ho football.
“I think Arsenal are right up against it, but with Partey back you never know.”
This news was originally published on this post .
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