Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal squad must have felt a sense of déjà vu in the French side as they watched Paris Saint-Germain demolish Bayern Munich. They’ve seen it before.
The way PSG beat Bayern in the Champions League semi-finals was the same medicine Arsenal received a year ago. Just as they did in last season’s semi-final against the Emirates, PSG flew home and took an early lead through Ousmane Dembele.
That year, PSG eventually beat Arsenal and won the Champions League. Now Arteta is tasked with preventing history from last season from repeating itself.
If Arsenal were incredibly resilient enough to beat Atletico Madrid, Luis Enrique’s side would have made a statement. They appeared at Bayern Munich’s home. It was a stadium they knew well, as it was the stadium where they won the Champions League last season. And I gave soccer lessons to the German champions.
Not only did they score with their first attack of the game – a stylish break down the left that looked like practice on a blade of grass despite being on the biggest stage – but PSG backed it up with a near-flawless display.
Ousmane Dembele put PSG ahead after just three minutes.
The forward play speaks for itself. They have Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele. He showed Harry Kane that night what it takes to win such an award. On the other hand, Hvicha Kvaratskelia and Desiree Doué have been a step above what we saw last season.
But it is the midfield that continues to improve. Fabian Luiz, who is no longer a guaranteed starter due to Warren Zaire-Emery’s form this season, topped PSG’s ball recoveries against Bayern. Joao Neves completed the joint-most tackles for them on the night. His four tackles accounted for most of the seven duels he won.
Meanwhile, in the steel, Vitinya showed his creative side by creating the most chances among his teammates. There is real balance in the center of PSG Park.
But there was maturity even in the very difficult circumstances of the trip to Bayern. Of course, this was a slightly makeshift PSG side considering Jair-Emery was brought on at right-back to replace the injured Achiraf Hakimi.
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John Cross scored Arsenal’s thrilling 6-5 aggregate win over Bayern Munich ahead of the Champions League final against PSG.
After a difficult start to the game, the 20-year-old midfielder soon got into the game and finished with PSG’s best passing accuracy.
When Nuno Mendes was booked early, many thought he would have a really difficult fight against Michael Olise. His nine duel wins were anything but, and Olise was mostly frustrated.
This maturity, with Marquinhos and Willian Pacho denying Kane for 94 minutes, was crucial in stopping a Bayern side that had scored at least three goals in each of their previous six games in their Champions League semi-final at the Allianz. The goal they scored through Kane was very undeserved.
But perhaps the most mature performance came from Kvaratskhelia, who showed his credentials as one of the best wingers in the world at the moment.
Hvica Kvaratskelia’s vs. Bayern Munich stats
His running was a constant threat to the Bayern defense. He attempted six dribbles and won them all, setting up and settling the decisive goal that put PSG through. But other aspects of the game went unnoticed.
His 11 duel wins were the most by any PSG player on the night, and his six ball recoveries were bettered only by Fabian Ruiz.
Arteta has been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer and the Gunners know everything about him. But he will have to pause for a moment. PSG have scored 44 goals so far in European competition, one behind Barcelona’s Champions League record set in 2000. This is an offense like no other, led by a front three that is at the top of the game.
But Arsenal can go into the Champions League final with a lot of confidence regardless of the attacking fluency shown by PSG.
It’s worth remembering that the Gunners are the only unbeaten team in the Champions League this season and their defense, which has kept nine clean sheets in 14 games in the competition, can match PSG’s attack. Arteta’s side could reach the final as English champions.
PSG beat Arsenal in the semi-finals last season, but a key figure in both games was Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is no longer at PSG after moving to Manchester City.
Arsenal and PSG met in the semifinals of last season’s Champions League.
Many thought Arsenal would have improved if there had been a different goalkeeper in PSG’s stick. Now we have a chance to test that theory.
And then we head to Budapest at the end of May. It is where the best offense and best defense in Europe meet.
It feels like a fitting finale to a crazy season, given that this has been a season where many people have been debating whether style or substance is the way to go.
