UCL

Arsenal

Arsenal v PSG - as it happened

Hurria Butt 3 months ago 30.4k

Arsenal v PSG, first leg semi-final, 2024/25 Champions League, 29/04/2025, lineups. BeSoccer

Join us for LIVE coverage of the Champions League first-leg semi-final showdown between Arsenal and Paris-Saint Germain, kick-off at 21:00 CET at the Emirates Stadium in London, England. The Gunners have already beaten the Parisians on home soil this season in the UCL. Can they do it again?

FIN

Arsenal

0-1

PSG

List of goalscorers

0 - 1

O. Dembélé

Match report in news

End of match

90'

FT: Arsenal 0-1 PSG. Ousmane Dembele's early goal gives the Parisians a precious lead to defend when Arsenal come knocking at the Parc des Princes next week for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals- Thank you for tuning in with us, and enjoy the rest of your night!
90'

Corner for Arsenal, but Donnarumma is fouled as Rice whips the ball in.
90'

Nwaneri is served with a back-heeled pass from Trossard in the box. The Englishman lays the ball to Martinelli, who was well set up to find the top-right corner, but he skies it out of the stadium.
90'

Five minutes of added time!!

90'

18-year-old Nwaneri comes on for Arsenal. Odegaard is off.

Substitution

at PSG

Off...

João Neves

Midfielder

On...

Zaïre-Emery

Midfielder

89'

PSG make a change now: Zaire-Emery comes on to replace Neves in midfield.

88'

Rice goes straight for goal, but hits Merino in the chest.
87'

Hakimi takes out Martinelli, who earns an interesting mini-corner from the left.
86'

Ramos now hits the crossbar! Back-to-back chances for PSG now, with the former Benfica striker finding himself in a similar position as Barcola. He is quickly closed off by Kiwior and tries to lob the ball over. It smacks onto the woodwork and bounces back.
84'

PSG had the chance to put the first leg to bed! Lovely link-up play between Barcola, who breaks into the box after a one-two with Ramos. He is alone with Raya just in front, but he squeezes it just wide.

Substitution

at Arsenal

Off...

Jurriën Timber

Defender

On...

Ben White

Defender

83'

After 83 minutes comes the first change for Arsenal: White replaces Timber, who had a long day trying to keep Kvara at bay.

83'

PSG get a free-kick from Saliba's handball.
81'

Ben White is ready to come on for Arsenal.
80'

Time is running out for Arsenal to salvage a draw. Ten minutes to go...
78'

Kiwior's poor clearance gifts PSG the ball. Eventually, Barcola lays the ball back to Neves, who strikes from the edge of the box. Just over!
77'

Lovely skills from Saka to wiggle through from the right and shoot on target. Donnarumma puts it behind for a corner, but the flag is up for Trossard's offside in the build-up.

Substitution

at PSG

Off...

Désiré Doué

Striker

On...

Gonçalo Ramos

Striker

76'

Doue is replaced by Ramos for PSG.

75'

Neves threatened to nick the ball away from Kiwior in defence. He almost did, but ended up fouling the centre-back.
73'

Arsenal with a nice spell on the ball, but it quickly fades away as Donnarumma comes out to catch Odegaard's cross.

Substitution

at PSG

Off...

O. Dembélé

Striker

On...

B. Barcola

Striker

70'

Barcola is on, but not for Doue as one would expect. Goalscorer, and so far match-decider, Dembele is subbed off after the knock.

70'

Meanwhile, PSG have a promising free-kick from the right flank, with Dembele seemingly hurt from the challenge.
69'

Could soon be time for Barcola. Fresh legs on the flank might just be what PSG need.
68'

The Parisians continue with the same trend: passing the ball from left to right without threatening to get forward.
66'

PSG moving the ball around with patience, but struggling to create clear goalscoring opportunities.
63'

Dembele with a massive chance to go 1v1 with Raya. He just about failed to latch onto a through ball from Marquinhos, which would've had him in front of goal with space.
62'

Doue nicely gets past Rice and MLS in one go. But Merino takes it upon himself to stop the Frenchman with a foul.
61'

Thomas Partey spotted watching from the stands. Appears to be rather stressed.
58'

Arteta urging his team to keep up the intensity from the touchline. PSG are clearly suffering right now.
56'

Miraolous save from Donnarumma! Rice surges through midfield, slipping the ball for Trossard, who has space to run into from the left. His shot seemed to be slotting into the bottom-right corner, but the PSG keeper got down to brush the ball wide of the post with his magic hand. The visitors somehow still hang onto their lead.
55'

PSG maintaining a slow tempo so far, while Arsenal are understandably more eager to get forward and restore the draw.
52'

Calls for a potential handball from Marquinhos, but game goes on without interruptions.
51'

Foul from Neves. Arsenal get free-kick in their own half.
50'

MERINO'S GOAL IS RULED OUT! Following VAR review, the goal has been disallowed for his offside position. Back to 0-1!

47'

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MERINO'S HEADER BRINGS ARSENAL LEVEL!!! The Spanish midfielder rose above anyone to head Rice's set piece. Arsenal are level, but the goal is being reviewed for a potential offside!

Yellow card

a PSG

João Neves

Midfielder

46'

The Gunners immediately earn a free-kick. Merino collided with Neves mid-air, giving his side a promising chance in attack. Meanwhile, the Portuguese is booked for the challenge.

46'

Underway with the second half!!
45'

HT: Arsenal 0-1 PSG. The Parisians started strongly with Dembele opening the scoring with four minutes on the clock. The Frenchman started and finished the attack with the help of Kvara, who set him up with an assist from the left flank. The Georgian continued to cause havoc out wide, but Arsenal slowly grew into the game. Martinelli had the biggest chance to put the Gunners level, but a great save from Donnarumma sees the visitors lead at the break.
45'

Martinelli had he leveller at his feet! MLS slips a great ball for the Brazilian, who storms into the box, finding himself with no one but Donnarumma in front of him. He opens his body to aim at the right corner, but the Italian flies to his left to push it away. Big big save on the brink of the break!
45'

Arsenal disagrees with most of the referee's decisions. Each whistle is met with disapproving shouts.

42'

Saka chases a loose ball on the right flank, with Mendes ahead of him. He wins the ball with a challenge on the Portuguese defender, but the referee halts the game to award PSG a foul. A yellow card is handed to the 23-year-old for his reaction to the whistle.

40'

Big Arsenal chance! Saka finds himself on the left flank. He lobs a ball towards Martinelli in the box, but the Brazilian is not able to make contact. Danger for PSG, who had left the net all empty.
39'

Quick VAR check to review the incident, but still no penalty. Game resumes.
37'

Arsenal are demanding a penalty! Odegaard's set-piece is headed away. Arsenal regain possession as Merino finds himself with a shooting opportunity from close range, but is challenged by Neves.
35'

MLS is brought down by Neves, and Arsenal have another promising free-kick from the left flank.
32'

Massive save from Raya on Doue! The French midfielder took a couple of touches toward the right-hand side of the box before firing at the left post. Raya quickly gets down to save it, but the ball remains in the danger zone. Ruiz hits on the rebound but is denied by the post. The flag is eventually up for the Spaniard's offside position.
30'

Kvaratskhelia has been, without a doubt, the main threat to Arsenal up until now. Timber has not been able to contain him, often needing a second man in support to keep him at bay.
28'

PSG trying to slow down the pace by holding onto the ball in defence. But a long ball is launched forward into no man's land to give back possession to Arsenal.
27'

Kvara enters the box from the left, cuts inside and shoots. His attempt is weak and straight into the gloves of Raya.
26'

A better second spell from Arsenal after a rough ten minutes. But they are yet to create clear chances on goal.
25'

Martinelli is caught offside on the left flank from Raya's long ball.
24'

Odegaard's set-piece is met by Kiwior's head, but it's safely into the hands of Donnarumma.
23'

Hakimi tries to break forward, but he is stopped by MLS, who earns the cheers from the home fans. He then earns a free kick in attack for Arsenal.
21'

Merino's foul on Doue puts an end to Arsenal's attacking threat. Plenty of fouls in this opening 20 minutes.
20'

Anddddddd another from Timber on, you guessed it, Kvara. Still no yellow card for the full-back, but a final warning instead.
17'

Another foul from Timber. He is late on Kvara and boots him mid-kick.
16'

Kvara slips brilliantly through Timber, but the Dutchman comes back to challenge him in the box. The No. 7 is down, but the referee lets the play continue, as the former Napoli winger chases him to protest the decision.

15'

Second yellow of the game goes to Marquinhos for grabbing onto Martinelli's shirt. Two bookings within 15 minutes.

14'

The corner is recycled by PSG on the other end of the pitch. A cross in launched towards Marquinhos, who is still in the box after the corner. The header was on target, but also easy enough for Raya to save.
13'

Kvara is closed under pressure by two Arsenal men. He smacks the ball onto Timber to earn PSG a corner.
12'

Foul from Timber on Kvara. The Emirates protests against the decision.
11'

Doue fires an ambitious attempt from the edge of the box. Raya gets down to save and avoid the corner.

Yellow card

a Arsenal

L. Trossard

Striker

10'

The corner is headed out of harm's way. Hakimi tries to chase the loose ball and break into the attack, but he is brought down by Trossard. Yellow card for the Belgian winger.

9'

Martinelli does well to get forward from the left. He is not able to get past his Brazilian teammate Marquinhos, but he does get a corner. And the Emirates roars in response.
7'

Arsenal will now need to keep their cool after that early goal. Still a long way to go...
6'

Dembele failed to score in both legs against Villa, going five matches without finding the back of the net. It took him four minutes at the Emirates.

Goaaaaaal!

de PSG en el 4'

Goal by...

O. Dembélé

Striker

Assist by

K. Kvaratskhelia

Striker
Statistics of O. Dembélé in Champions League

15

8

0.53

6

1

0

4'

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL DEMBELE WITH A BEAUTY TO FIRE PSG AHEAD!!! The Frenchman started and finished the attack with style, storming forward with acres of space in front of him before serving Kvara on the left. The Georgian loomed toward the box, passing the ball back to Dembele, who struck first time to direct it past Raya's right post. 0-1 and Arsenal are in trouble!

1'

Underway at the Emirates for Arsenal-PSG!!

Start of match

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Players are out of the tunnel, and we are all set for kick-off. Here we goooooooooo!
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On the bench for Luis Enrique's side: Safonocv, Tenas, Kimpember, Ramos, Lee, Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Beraldo, Mbaye.
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Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma (GK); Hakimi, Pacho, Marquinhos, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
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On the bench for Mikel Arteta's side: Neto, Setford, White, Tierney, Zinchenko, Henry-Francis, Nwaneri, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia, Sterling.
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Arsenal's starting XI (4-3-3): Raya (GK); Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
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Confirmed lineups have dropped at the Emirates! Let's see what they're saying, starting as always with the hosts...
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Paris Saint-Germain's possible starting XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma (GK); Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
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Arsenal's possible starting XI (4-3-3): Raya (GK); Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
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With that all settled, let's have a look at the possible lineups!!
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The main decision the former Barca boss is left with is between Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola on the left wing. Barcola started at Villa Park last time out in the Champions League, but Doue may be better suited to deal with Arsenal’s dynamic full-back Timber.
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As for PSG, Luis Enrique heads into the trip to the English capital with his men fully fit, rested, and ready - a luxury that gives him a rare and enviable tactical freedom.
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At the back, Arteta is expected to stick with the defence that kept Real Madrid quiet in the last round, amid Gabriel's season-ending injury. That would mean another start for Jakub Kiwior alongside William Saliba in the heart of defence.
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Despite Merino's impressive performances up front, he is set to return to his traditional midfield position, with Trossard tipped to lead the attack with Saka and Martinelli on the flanks.
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Ben White, who also missed last week’s 2-2 draw with Palace, trained as well and should be fit to feature in what is a further boost for Mikel Arteta. Elsewhere, Thomas Partey is unavailable through suspension, while Jorginho, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Gabriel Jesus are all out with injuries.
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In terms of team news, Arsenal looked set to be without Mikel Merino after the Spaniard missed the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. But the makeshift striker Spaniard took part in training on Monday afternoon and is now expected to be fit for the game.
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"The best thing I did was not play him in London, for which I was strongly criticised," Luis Enrique recalled in February. "It is the best decision I have made this year. The rest is all down to him, but what happened in London was very important."
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Dembele was dropped when PSG were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium at the start of October after being surprisingly dropped for 'lacking discipline'.
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His recent record has coincided with PSG losing a little of the magic which made them arguably the best team in Europe in the early spring - they have won just once in their last four matches. Nevertheless, Luis Enrique has insisted he is not worried about Dembele's diminishing statistics in recent games, and recently waved away suggestions that his star man is frustrated at the goals drying up
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Dembele was not on target in either leg of the Champions League quarter-final victory against Aston Villa, a tie in which PSG found themselves hanging on grimly to their advantage at the end. He also failed to add to his Ligue 1 leading goals tally of 21 in the French champions' 3-1 home loss against Nice on Friday, despite seven shots over the course of the evening.
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The former Barcelona star has found the net just twice in his last seven outings at club level. Both of those goals came in a French Cup semi-final victory against second-tier Dunkerque in early April.
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That included a crucial goal against Liverpool at Anfield on the way to PSG winning their Champions League last-16 tie on penalties. However, a few days later the 27-year-old went away on international duty with France and since his return Dembele has lost some of his clinical edge.
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On the other hand, Dembele scored 25 goals in 20 games in all competitions for PSG between mid-December and mid-March, with his massive transformation coming as he was turned from a winger into a central striker by Enrique.
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Saka has netted 9 times and assisted 6 times more in 16 appearances in the Champions League for Arsenal. According to OneFootball, it is already the most goal involvements for an English player in their first two seasons in the competition, and the most by a winger in their first two since Sadio Mané (16 across 2017–18 and 2018–19).
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He scored in the second leg at the Bernabeu and will now be looking to make it back-to-back goals in Champions League against the Parisians.
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He has only started in the two wins over Real Madrid since returning from injury, with Arteta choosing to rest him for the Premier League outings, with the title long gone.
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Saka's season was hampered by a hamstring injury, which saw him miss out on over three months worth of action for Arsenal. But he returned as if he had never stopped playing, as he came back shining for the Gunnners.
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But the spotlight is all on the battle upfront between Bukayo Saka and Ousmane Dembele.
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"He was extremely supportive with the young players, he was one of the main characters by far. I have really good memories of him," Arteta revealed. "What I love about him is wherever he's been, as a player or a manager, his fingerprints are all over the place. You can sense it's his team with the way his players behave, the way they want to attack and dominate games."
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Luis Enrique was a senior star at Barcelona when Arteta started his playing career at the Camp Nou, a period that had a major impact on his managerial philosophy with Arsenal.
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A curious backstory of tonight's showdown is the reunion between Arteta and Enrique. Along with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, the PSG manager played a major role in his compatriot's impressive transition from the pitch to the dugout.
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"We want to do something special, that place has to be something special, something that we haven't seen," the Spaniard added, aiming to lead Arsenal to only their second Champions League final appearance in their history, and then lift the trophy for their first time.
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Having eliminated the 15-time Champions League winners in the quarter-finals, the north London side will be feeling capable of doing the impossible in tonight's crunch.
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"The message is that they have to play every ball with us. So I would say bring your boots, your shin pads, your shorts, your T-shirts! And let's play on Tuesday night all together here to have one of the most amazing nights at the Emirates,” Arteta said during his pre-match press conference.
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Meanwhile, Arteta reiterated the home fans' crucial role ahead of the first leg, urging the crowd to repeat the electric atmosphere from the 3-0 victory over Real Madrid.
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Enrique himself said that October's defeat at the Emirates 'doesn't worry me', insisting that the spirit among the squad is higher than ever.
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With Luis Enrique at the helm, PSG have turned their fortunes after a slow start in Europe. After beating Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Unai Emery's Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, Enrique eyes his next, and remaining, English victim in Arsenal.
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Mikel Arteta's men have already beaten PSG on home soil this season in the Champions League, but the stakes are much different than they were after their 2-0 win in October.
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Arsenal, PSG, Barcelona and Inter are the four protagonists of this year's edition of the top continental club competition as the Gunners and the Parisians face off for the first leg of their semi-final tie at the Emirates.
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Only four teams remain in the Champions League as we approach the final stages of the competition.

Pre-match

29 April 2025, 21:00

Referee: Slavko Vincic | VAR: Alen Borosak

Stadium: Emirates Stadium

PRVW

Hello everyone, and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Champions League first-leg semi-final showdown between Arsenal and Paris-Saint Germain, kick-off at 21:00 CET at the Emirates Stadium in London, England.

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