After defeating Real Madrid in the previous round, expectations were high for Arsenal as they took on Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals of the Champions League. However, PSG, who have already knocked out Premier League sides Liverpool and Aston Villa, defeated the Gunners 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their tie.
Arsenal–PSG Champions League player ratings
Below, we're rating the Arsenal players on a scale of 1 to 10.
Goalkeeper and defenders
David Raya (GK): 7
Raya could not do much about Ousmane Dembele's goal as it was a sublime finish that went in off the post. The goalkeeper went on to make smart saves to deny Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué. These saves were crucial in making sure that the Gunners only conceded once and gave them a lifeline for the second leg.
Jurrien Timber (RB): 4
Timber had the difficult task of being up against Kvaratskhelia, who got the better of the Arsenal defender on many occasions. Ben White came on for Timber in the 83rd minute.
William Saliba (CB): 5
Saliba had a challenging night up against Dembele. However, he made a fantastic tackle to deny Achraf Hakimi from getting a shot on goal.
Jakub Kiwior (CB): 4
Arsenal missed Gabriel Magalhães, Timber dived in on too many occasions and was often not on the same wavelength as Saliba. PSG substitute Gonçalo Ramos was also afforded too much space by Kiwior.
Myles Lewis-Skelly (LB): 7
Lewis-Skelly stepped up into midfield well to play some dangerous forward passes. He set up a great chance for Gabriel Martinelli, whilst not forgetting his defensive duties.
Midfielders
Declan Rice (CDM): 7
With Thomas Partey suspended, Rice played in a more defensive role and should have done a better job at picking up Dembele. However, his deliveries from set pieces were effective. Rice's driving runs forward also caused problems for PSG.
Mikel Merino (CM): 5
Merino played back in his favored midfield position but struggled as PSG dominated. He thought he had equalised, but his header was ruled out for offside.
Martin Odegaard (CM): 4
The Arsenal captain was surprisingly uninvolved and was replaced by Ethan Nwaneri late on.
Forwards
Bukayo Saka (RW): 5
Saka scored against PSG when Arsenal defeated the French team 2-0 in the league phase of the competition. However, he could not make as much of an impact in this match.
Leandro Trossard (CF): 5
Trossard was often isolated as Arsenal's makeshift center-forward. However, he did force Gianluigi Donnarumma into making a fine save.
Gabriel Martinelli (LW): 5
Martinelli got into dangerous positions, but he missed a great chance to equalise.
Substitutes
- Ben White, N/A
- Ethan Nwaneri, N/A