A soccer player in a PSG jersey smiles and sticks out his tongue on the field, with a blurred stadium screen and crowd in the background.

Source: Alamy Stock Photo

Paris Saint-Germain Defeats Arsenal and Takes the Advantage Toward the Final

Paris Saint-Germain took a crucial step toward the UEFA Champions League final with a 1-0 away victory over English side Arsenal in the first leg of their semifinal.

The match’s only goal came in the 4th minute through Ousmane Dembélé, putting the French capital club on the verge of reaching the final for only the second time in their history, following their first appearance in 2020, when they lost to German sidr Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, Arsenal faces a tougher task in pursuit of a second final appearance, the first having come in 2006 when they were beaten by Spanish side Barcelona.

Before the second leg next Wednesday at Parc des Princes in Paris, PSG broke their winless streak against Arsenal, who had never lost to the French side in their five previous European encounters—including a 2-0 Arsenal win in the group stage earlier this season in London.

The Parisians also handed the Gunners their first home defeat in the competition since March 2017, when Bayern Munich beat them 5-1 in the round of 16 second leg—matching the score line of the first leg.

Match Highlights

Arsenal found themselves trailing inside four minutes when Dembélé received a pass from Georgian star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the edge of the penalty area and struck a left-footed shot. The ball bounced off the left post and into the net past Spanish goalkeeper David Raya.

Dembélé, who missed the group-stage clash, raised his season tally to 33 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions, including eight in the Champions League.

Just seconds into the second half, Arsenal appeared to have equalized with a Mikel Merino header off a Declan Rice free-kick. However, the goal was ruled out following a lengthy VAR check for offside against the Spaniard (47′).

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was instrumental for PSG, making several key saves throughout the match. His most notable stop came in the 56th minute when he denied Belgian forward Leandro Trossard—who started the match in attack—with a difficult low shot.

The second half’s key moment came in the 70th minute when Dembélé was forced off with an injury, replaced by winger Bradley Barcola. Barcola nearly delivered a knockout blow in the 84th minute, but his shot went just wide of the right post. Then, fellow substitute Gonçalo Ramos had a one-on-one opportunity and saw his effort rattle the crossbar (85′).

Post-Match Reactions

PSG midfielder Vitinha reflected on the win in a televised interview: “It’s a strong message. Winning here is very difficult. We knew that from October (when PSG lost 0-2).” He added: “We played well even if we didn’t control the ball like we usually do. That’s what strong teams do—when they need to defend, they defend. We have to adapt to each match.”

He continued, “We could’ve scored more tonight, but we’re happy with the result. Things aren’t finished yet, but it was a great team performance.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta urged his players to mount a comeback in the return leg: “We’re halfway through the tie, and my message is the same as it was after the 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the quarterfinal first leg.”

He added: “We have to go to Paris and win, and we’re more than capable of doing that. We still have a great chance to reach the final and go to Munich.”