Football writer Lewis Ambrose analyses Arsenal's task in Paris with a place in the UEFA Champions League final at stake.
Arsenal head to the Parc des Princes with a mountain to climb if they are to reach the second Champions League final in their history on Wednesday.
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It is 19 years since the French capital staged the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final. Now Mikel Arteta’s side must overturn a 1-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain if they are to book a place in this month’s final in Munich, against Inter Milan after their enthralling extra-time win over Barcelona.
Just two teams, Ajax (in 1995/96 against Panathinaikos) and Tottenham Hotspur (in 2018/19 against Ajax), have ever lost the first leg of a Champions League semi-final at home and gone on to reach the final.
Ousmane Dembele’s early goal quickly quietened a raucous Emirates Stadium last Tuesday and PSG had late chances to score a second after Mikel Merino's effort for Arsenal was ruled out for offside and PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stood firm to keep the visitors ahead.
Arteta was hoping for a response at the weekend but did not get one. He made only two line-up changes for their Premier League home defeat to AFC Bournemouth, with the result prompting the Spaniard to say his team had "created a lot of rage, anger, frustration" in giving away a one-goal lead to the Cherries.
The manager said those emotions must now be channelled to help Arsenal rise to the occasion in France.
PSG also lost at the weekend, to Strasbourg, although Luis Enrique did use the opportunity that comes with already being league champions to make 10 changes from the side who won in north London.
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Could be 'biggest night in Arsenal's history'
Arteta has urged his Arsenal players to seize the moment in Paris on Wednesday night.
"We are here to make history," he said in his pre-match press conference. "Winning trophies is about being in the right moment, in the right place.
“The result brings a lot of clarity, what both teams have to do, for us it's even clearer.
"We know what we can do. We are one win away from being in the final. Let's do the talking on the pitch."
Providing an update on the fitness of Riccardo Calafiori, Arteta confirmed: "He’s trained and is fit and ready to play if we need him."
Declan Rice said getting through to the Champions League final would represent an all-time high for the club.
The midfielder believes winning at Real Madrid in the quarter-final last month shows that Arsenal know how to cope on the biggest of stages.
"It will be the biggest night in our history if we can win," he said. "We showed we can do it when we went to the Bernabeu - we've proven we can handle big situations."
Rice: “We’re full of belief and positivity”
Partey much-needed in Paris
Arsenal will have Thomas Partey back for the second leg after the midfielder was suspended for the first leg, but they could be without right-back Jurrien Timber, who was not considered fit enough to be on the bench at the weekend.
As for PSG, Dembele limped off after scoring the first leg’s only goal but was back in training on Monday.
Partey’s availability will allow Arsenal to return to the front six that helped them to win both legs against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, with Rice in a box-to-box role and Merino up front.
Merino has performed admirably as an emergency striker in the absences of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus since February, scoring six goals across 10 appearances when leading the line in the Premier League and Champions League.
Compared with Leandro Trossard, who started up front in the first leg, Merino offers more presence there. He also provides an option for goalkeeper David Raya to go long from the back, giving Arsenal some flexibility and unpredictability when building up, as well as someone to aim at in the box.
Having Trossard on the bench will offer Arteta someone to turn to as well. The Belgian is Arsenal’s third top scorer (10 goals in all competitions) and second most-used substitute (17 times) this season after Ethan Nwaneri. Arteta did not make a change until the 83rd minute last week, by which point PSG had already replaced two of their starting front three with fresh legs.
Even without a recognised striker or key defender Gabriel, there is plenty of hope for Arsenal, who beat PSG 2-0 in this season’s league phase.
The Gunners have scored a total of 16 goals in winning each of their last four Champions League away matches.
The space behind PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi can be exploited, given Arsenal enjoyed their two biggest chances down that flank last week, only for Gabriel Martinelli and Trossard to be denied by Donnarumma in goal.
PSG have kept just two clean sheets in their last 12 home games across all competitions but even if the Gunners can score the goals they need in Paris, they will also have to keep their hosts out at the other end.
The French champions looked like they were toying with Arsenal for the first 30 minutes of last week’s first leg and had two huge late chances to score a second goal on the break and all but end the tie. Doing the business at both ends of the pitch is a tall order.
A moment that will make or break their season
Ultimately, Arsenal’s season now rides on winning in Paris. They are now at risk of not even finishing as Premier League runners-up to champions Liverpool, and the Champions League is their last hope of a first trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2020.
For all the improvement in recent years, including back-to-back second-place finishes in the Premier League, a return to Champions League football after six years away, and a first Champions League semi-final since 2009, Arteta and his players have not enjoyed a crowning moment and this is the first season in a while that does not yet look like progress.
Their campaign has been hamstrung by injuries exposing a lack of sufficient quality in depth, plus the joint-most red cards (five) in the Premier League.
It’s been clear for a number of weeks that Arsenal's focus has been on their European run but failing to take that final step will increase focus on the fact, although they can certainly compete for major honours, whether they can win them is another matter.