Happy Champions League semifinals week! Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain kick things off on Tuesday as the road to Munich reaches its penultimate stage. Get the latest ahead of the first leg of that tie.
Arsenal`s long-awaited semifinal return
A competitive batch of semifinal matches begins at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of a fascinating tie.
This marks the Gunners` first trip to the Champions League semifinals in 16 years, clearing the quarterfinal hurdle in statement-making fashion with a 5-1 aggregate demolition of the reigning champions, Real Madrid. Their performances over the two quarterfinal legs marked a new accomplishment in Arsenal`s steady upward trajectory under manager Mikel Arteta and makes them the newest steward of the `defense wins championships` cliche. Do not let the lopsided score of their triumph over Real Madrid confuse you – the foundation of that demolition was their defensive showing and as James Benge writes, it is their greatest strength as they plot their path to Munich.
Benge: `There might be another team in the field, Inter, who have conceded fewer goals, but no team is giving their opposition less to work with in front of goal than Arsenal. Over 12 games they have allowed opponents shots worth an average of 0.69 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) per game. By almost every metric, Arsenal`s defense is elite. They allow their opposition 16.4 touches per game in the penalty box, nearly five fewer than any other team in the field, and concede just 10.3 shots per game. All that having just come up against Real Madrid`s hyper frontline, which had not even registered an expected goal until William Saliba handed a sitter to Vinicius Junior.`
Arteta was correct to say that the quarterfinal matches against Real Madrid were arguably the most important of his managerial career, though the road to the final does not get easier from here. Paris Saint-Germain are perhaps the hardest team to play in Europe, definitely more so than a Real Madrid team that had collected enough notable losses this season to raise questions about their title hopes. Their showing against Los Blancos, reasonably, is enough to placate onlookers who have noticed the Gunners` trophy hunt come down to one after failing to collect any domestic titles. The big question for this group, then, is what exactly they can get away with against PSG.
The ideal situation for anyone invested in Arsenal, obviously, is to see them in Munich next month. There is also undoubtedly a scenario in which they do not advance while hanging onto their status as one of Europe`s top sides. For a team with lofty aspirations, though, there`s a balancing act that the Gunners now have to navigate – is performing as well as possible enough if they don`t end up with a trophy to show for it?
Paris Saint-Germain`s time to live up to the hype
The last time Paris Saint-Germain turned up at the Emirates Stadium, they exited with a 2-0 loss in October that did little to dispel the idea that the French champions were in a period of transition. It was not an unexpected outcome – manager Luis Enrique had more or less indicated that the first months of the post-Kylian Mbappe era would be a showcase for younger players, all of whom would show their best sometime in the future. What a difference six months can make.
After a splurge in the winter transfer market and the embrace of a unique press envisioned by Enrique, PSG have earned a status as Europe`s most exciting team and a surprise contender for the Champions League title, to the point that Thierry Henry believes they will be a tougher test for Arsenal than Real Madrid were. Enrique`s tactical set-up has been the key of their unexpectedly deep run, which James Benge notes has made them particularly difficult to beat.
Benge: `Luis Enrique`s PSG have become a real team like they have not been since the Qatari takeover. It`s reflected in a playing style that seems to be dictated by the midfield not three diffident forwards and an everybody eats attack where the new attackers interchange in unison, rather than just doing what seems right for them personally. Most of all, however, this new PSG is reflected in how it plays when it does not have the ball. … Their 9.2 passes allowed per defensive action is the second fewest in the competition behind Bayern Munich, two years ago that number was 13.5. No team in the entire competition averages more ball recoveries in the front two-thirds of the pitch than the French champions, who win the ball back 31.1 times per game. Per Wyscout, no team wins more defensive duels.`
If there`s a case to be made that facing PSG is Arsenal`s biggest test yet in the Champions League, the argument can also be made the other way around. While the Gunners` statement-making turn came against Real Madrid, PSG`s came in the round of 16 against Liverpool, another talented but imperfect team. Going toe-to-toe with Aston Villa in the quarterfinals raised some questions about their ability to go all the way, though a semifinal tie against Arsenal will test the true potential of the new-and-improved PSG – and perhaps set the benchmark for what`s to be expected from this young side going forward.
