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44 min Timber wins the ball back well, marches through midfield and is cynically fouled by Hakimi. He could have been booked earlier; he has been booked now.
43 min Saka is furious to be penalised for a foul on Mendes, who made the most of a slight shove in the back, and boots the ball away in frustration. He’s booked. Arsenal think the world is against them, or at least the referee Slavko Vincic.
42 min “‘Big KK’ would surely suffice for Kvaratskhelia,” says Scott Blair, “and be less harrowing on the fingers?”
I’m not going near repetition of the letter K unless Kevin Keegan announces he’s the new Brazil manager or that he’s going on Strictly.
41 min A long free-kick bounces awkwardly in the PSG area. Merino helps it back across goal and Trossard’s speculative flick is saved comfortably by Donnarumma.
Arsenal don’t want half-time right now.
40 min This is Arsenal’s best spell. It almost leads to a goal when Saka’s cross is volleyed wide of an open goal by the stretching Martinelli. I think Martinelli was offside so it wouldn’t have counted, but the last few minutes have been much more promising for Arsenal.
39 min The first trademark run infield from Saka, who beats Kvaratskhelia and whips a shot towards goal from 25 yards. Donnarumma saves comfortably.
37 min: Arsenal penalty appeal! Kiwior, still up following a free-kick, takes advantage of a literal defensive slip on the left side of the area and plays the ball back to Merino eight yards out. He is about to shoot when Joao Neves makes a wonderful pickpocket’s tackle from the side. Merino goes down and the referee points theatrically towards the ball, which confuses a number of Arsenal fans who think he’s pointing for a penalty.
Joao Neves makes a wonderful tackle in his own box to deny Mikel Merino. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
35 min Doue and Kvaratskhelia have switched wings for a bit. There’s still no respite for Jurrien Tumber, who may need to be taken off at half-time with twisted blood.
34 min “It’s been a difficult 48 hours for some supporters of less stellar football clubs,” writes Kim Thonger. “My club, Bristol City, got thrashed last night by Leeds in a vital playoff qualification game. I was thankfully trapped in the London Palladium watching the very wonderful Sarah Silverman, without my mobile, which had to be sealed into a Faraday cage pouch for the show. Them’s the rules. So I avoided the pain of the four goals hitting the back of the net. And for Bristol City’s final must-win game on Saturday, I shall be on a plane.
“Again, I will avoid the pain, or pleasure, perhaps. But I have discovered this, if I cannot watch or listen to the game, I am strangely calmer than I would otherwise have been. So, if any Arsenal fans are struggling with stress at this very moment, just lock yourself in the cupboard under the stairs for a couple of hours, without your phone. Take a torch and some chocolate HobNobs and a relaxing book, perhaps Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, and emerge to check the result when the game has finished. You’ll thank me later, trust me. I wish Arsenal good fortune.”
Here’s a thing. Why don’t we all make a pact whereby we throw our phones in the sea and never use the internet ever again? Send your thoughts to Rob Smyth, PO Box 1994, London.
32 min That’s such a good save from Raya. It’s the change of direction that made it so good, because everyone thought Doue would shoot across goal.
31 min: Brilliant save by Raya! Dembele is released one v one in the area with Saliba, who does superbly to hold him up while support arrives. Eventually Dembele’s cross deflects to Doue, who cuts inside Timber and rifles a low shot towards the near post. Raya changes direction and plunges to his right to beat the ball away, a quite fabulous save.
Fabian Ruiz, offside but not flagged until the ball has gone dead, hits the post with the rebound. Doue’s shot would have counted.
31 min It’s a more even game now, although PSG still look the more relaxed and Kvaratskhelia has been the most dangerous attacking player by a mile.
30 min The camera cuts to Arsene Wenger, back at the Emirates for a rare visit. He’s come from Japan…
Arsene who? Photograph: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images
28 min Here’s Zafar Sobhan on the aforementioned absence of Thomas Partey. “Presumably, Arsenal are still playing with 11 men (though on form of first 20 mins it doesn’t appear so), though. Where was Rice? PSG bossing the game in midfield.”
Now look, it’s hard enough doing an MBM without getting the chalkboard out, so I can’t tell you where Rice was or why Dembele was in a different postcode. I’ll have a look at half-time. Rice may have gone on a run forward. Actually, as I type, Arsenal’s formation looks closer to a double pivot – in the parlance of our time – with Merino to the left of Rice. No idea if that was the case at the start of the game.
27 min Arsenal work the ball nicely in the inside-left channel until Trossard screws his cross too close to Donnarumma.
26 min Arsenal can’t deal with Kvaratskhelia, which is bad news for my fingers. He moves into the area, shifts the ball onto his left foot and hits a shot that deflects off Timber. Raya plunges to his left to make a comfortable save.
24 min Arsenal are slowly growing into the game. Odegaard’s free-kick from deep is headed down by Kiwior and held comfortably by Donnarumma.
24 min “Watching this tonight in a small, rustic pub in south-west Poland and the thirty or so crowd are big-time behind Arsenal,” writes Peadar de Burca. “I’m nursing a Belgian Leffe and as much as I’d like to be the bigger man and join in, my loyalty to Liverpool won’t allow it. What’s wrong with me? We won the league. PSG beat us fair and square. Why can’t I take the tribalism hand-brake off and throw out a little Gooner-love? Maybe a second Leffe will help…”
A second Leffe always helps. It’s the fifth when things start to get a bit more, ahem, nuanced.
23 min Lewis-Skelly does superbly to win the ball off Hakimi, who brings him down in response. Hakimi might have been booked for that.
Even a little moment like that can change the mood.
22 min The Arsenal fans are already pretty unhappy with the referee. He’s given a lot of free-kicks to PSG, but they all looked good decisions to me.
20 min Timber, who is having a bit of a nightmare, again fouls Kvaratskhelia. Arsenal are really struggling. They need to hold their nerve – we’ve seen enough football matches to know one chance or goal could change the mood completely, particularly if it involves the inspirational Saka or Rice. Or any o
17 min Timber gets a last warning after wiping out Kvaratskhelia, who has made an irresistible start.
We’ve seen a replay of the penalty incident – Timber put his arm across Kvaratskhelia, who took the opportunity to go over. While there wasn’t enough contact for it to be overturned, Timber took a huge risk.
Jurrien Timber clears out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
16 min: PSG penalty appeal! Kvaratskhelia slips Timber beautifully in the area, then goes to ground dramatically. The referee says plays on and an affronted Kvaratskhelia hares after him. No word yet whether there’s a VAR check.
14 min: Chance for PSG Kvaratskhelia wins a corner for PSG. It’s taken short to Doue and eventually leads to a cross from Hakimi on the other side that is headed towards goal by Marquinhos. It’s straight at Raya, who saves comfortably, but either side are Arsenal would have been in serious bother.
13 min PSG have started remarkably well, apparently oblivious to the fact they’re away from home in a Champions League semi-final. Their pressing and passing have been first rate; Arsenal may need to change something because they’ve hardly seen the ball.
12 min “A cold shower is meant to be marvellously invigorating,” writes Charles Antaki. “At the moment it seems about as invigorating as a bowl of cold tapioca, but let’s see.”
11 min Doue cuts inside from the right and drags a daisy-cutter from 25 yards that is comfortably saved by Raya.
10 min Rice’s corner is headed away, PSG break and Trossard is booked for a tactical foul on Hakimi.
Leandro Trossard goes in the book for a foul on Achraf Hakimi. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA
9 min Much better from Arsenal. Martinelli runs at Marquinhos to win Arsenal’s first corner. Rice is going over to take it…
8 min That John Smith’s kick-off aside, it has been a formidable start from PSG. In the pre-match huddle, Declan Rice told his teammates, “We die without the ball”. They’re already on about their fourth life.
6 min There was so much to like about that goal. PSG kept the ball for a long time, waiting for an opportunity. It came when Dembele was found in space in the centre circle; as, Alan Shearer has just said on Sky, you wonder if he’d had have quite so much space with Thomas Partey on the field.
PSG have taken the lead with a fine team goal. They kept the ball for an age before Dembele released Kvaratskhelia in space on the area. He shuffled into the area, running at Timber, before flicking the ball back to Dembele on the edge of the area. It was an awkward ball to hit first time, but Dembele hit into the ground and across goal with his left foot. It went through the crowd, hit the inside of the far post and bounced into the net.
Work to do for Arsenal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Ave it? Ave that!
Not the greatest of starts for Arsenal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
2 min “Per the U.S. commentary this is the most youthful Champions League semi final since 1995,” says Matt Burtz. “With your extensive knowledge of football history you probably won’t even need to look up which tie was referenced.”
Well – and I say this with love for Franco Baresi in particular – it definitely wasn’t the one involving AC Milan! Great stat though, thanks for that.
1 min Shall we crack on? PSG, kicking from right to left as we watch, get the match under way and pump the ball straight out of play. Before the game Mikel Arteta told his team to “live it, embrace it”. That start from PSG was more “ave it”.
There will be a minute’s silence in memory of Pope Francis before the match. Or maybe it’s a minute’s applause. Nobody seems to know what they’re supposed to be doing.
Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique smile warmly at they embrace on the touchline. The mood is so positive, so infectious, that it’s easy to forget it has to end in tears for one of these teams.
There’s a wonderful atmosphere at the Emirates, where the home fans are lustily belting out their new anthem Viva Forever. This feels huge.
Actually, no, this feels huge.
A young man’s game
Both teams only have one thirtysomething in their team: Leandro Trossard for Arsenal, Marquinhos for Paris Saint-Germain.
Let’s have a quick reminder of the teams before they take the field.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Kvaratskehlia, Dembele, Doue.
Substitutes: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, L Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
“It’s exciting to see two of the cities mentioned in Pop Muzik going at it today!” says Peter Oh. “Not you, New York, and not you either Harry Kane, I mean Munich.”
“I predict Arse(nal) de Triomphe today and Parisian Arc de Triomphe by a bigger margin in the second leg.”
Joe Pearson has taken the Pet Shop Boys reference and, er, jogged with it?
Does PSG have the brains and Arsenal have the looks (Arteta’s hair)? But PSG has already got lots of money. We’ll see how this goes.
What have I done to deserve this?
Will Martin Odegaard create Opportunities tonight, or will it end up Being Boring? Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
“Apart from reading you tonight,” says Steve Bradfield, “ I’ll keep abreast by the amount of cheering I can hear at home in Tufnell Park.”
What’s that, three miles? I’d imagine you’ll hear plenty. Arsenal fans have had plenty of stick over the years, but the Emirates won’t be a library tonight.
It’s 5838 days since Arsenal last played in a Champions League semi-final. On that night, alas, the dream was dead by 7.56pm.
Meet PSG’s president
Khelaifi is, in the words of one seasoned observer, “the most powerful person in sport that nobody has heard of”. That oversight is probably true of a British public to which his influence is yet to cut through. If nothing else the Qatari should receive a slightly more amenable welcome at Arsenal that the one afforded in November by fans of Bayern Munich, who certainly seemed well versed in his various functions when PSG visited.
There is one man at the Emirates tonight who knows what it’s like to be European champion.
Mikel Arteta’s pre-match thoughts
We’re excited: it’s a big game, a big night for us and a massive opportunity to take the next step.
[On the atmosphere] We have to generate one of the most amazing nights at this stadium [Theo Walcott, on Amazon Prime, whips out his boots in accordance with Arteta’s pre-match instructions]. Get ready, get ready just in case!
The game is about passion, energy and connecting with people. We’ve all experienced it – when you feel that on the pitch, it makes such a difference.
[On Arsene Wenger making a rare appearance at the Emirates] The reason I am here, the reason a lot of us are here, is because of him. Hopefully we can give him something back.
[On setting Arsenal’s ambitions higher than their recent achievements] I really believe it, I’m convinced about it. We have the capacity. We’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 months. In June we started to prepare for moments like this, and now it’s about delivering. Just express yourself and go for it.
The team look ready. Of course there will be difficult moments, we are prepared for that. Adapt to any context; any context is good for us. Live it, embrace it, and then you have to earn the right to win the game. In order to achieve that, every individual has to step up.
In a surprising development, Mikel Arteta chose this week to reference the famous Pie & Pints match of November 1986.
I tell them [the supporters], and I’m not exaggerating here: ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your T-shirts and let’s play every ball together. We want to do something special. The place has to be something special, something that we haven’t seen. I really hope that everybody that comes to the Emirates and is watching and following us, brings that energy with them.
Yellow cards were wiped after the quarter-finals. So if anybody wants to miss the second leg, they’ll have to get the extra mile and get themselves sent off tonight.
Désiré Doué, 19, starts in attack for PSG tonight
Désiré had a great career ahead of him from a young age. He was a creative player. He liked to make the difference individually, but he was also driven by the collective.
Having completed Real Madrid, Declan Rice’s next challenge is to deal with João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha.
Arteta’s plan was for Rice to be a No 6 and clean up at the base of midfield. He called him a lighthouse, describing him as a player with the ability to guide his teammates, but soon saw that his new signing was capable of shining in more advanced areas. “He plays very, very high in Arsenal,” Thomas Tuchel, England’s manager, said of Rice last month. “He plays sometimes as a defensive second striker. When they press high he’s sometimes a double striker. He plays in the left 10 pocket.”
No surprises in the Paris Saint-Germain team either. Desire Doue replaces Bradley Barcola in the only change from the second leg of their quarter-final against Aston Villa.
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
Substitutes: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, L Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
The Arsenal team is as expected, with just one enforced change from the win at the Bernabeu. Leandro Trossard replaces the suspended Thomas Partey, so Mikel Merino will move back into midfield.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
Leandro Trossard starts up top for Arsenal this evening. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
Champions League: previews and predictions for the semi-finals
Luis Enrique has the luxury of selecting from a full squad. The PSG manager named a strong team for the 3-1 loss to Nice on Friday – PSG’s first Ligue 1 defeat this season. Enrique must decide which of his attackers to drop, with Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola battling to join Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the frontline. Otherwise, the rest of the XI picks itself. His midfield trio of João Neves, Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz have been impressive this season and will look to dictate in the middle.
Champions League: previews and predictions for the semi-finals
Arsenal have never lost to Paris Saint-Germain, though it’s a small sample size. These are their previous meetings.
Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, 1993-94
- Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Arsenal
- Arsenal 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
I think the chant “1-0 to the Arsenal” was born in the first leg of that game, when they were ahead at half-time. Either that or I’ve been dreaming about Arsenal and the Pet Shop Boys again.
Champions League group stage, 2016-17
Champions League league state, 2024-25
Tonight, on a blissful spring evening in North London, 60,000 virgins will assemble in a a four-tiered bowl with polycarbonate roofing. We should probably explain that, eh.
Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, who meet at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, are arguably the biggest clubs never to become champions of Europe. That gives tonight’s game a unique excitement: it’s both a heavyweight clash and a meeting of wide-eyed dreamers.
The last time Arsenal played in a Champions League semi-final, in May 2009, even Myles Lewis-Skelly, aged 2, barely know who the eff Myles Lewis-Skelly was. This is PSG’s fourth semi-final in the last six years, by contrast, but their first without Eminem. That’s another feature of this game – the two teams are just that, with an emphasis on the collective and an absence of galacticos.
If you combined all the votes in last year’s Ballon d’Or for the 22 players involved tonight, they’d still only have finished 18th. This is going to change in the future, perhaps the very near future. But that’s the point: right now, at 6pm BST on 29 April 2025, the players and fans of Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have it all ahead of them.
Kick off 8pm.
The front cover of the matchday programme. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
