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Mikel Arteta is determined to oversee a comeback in Paris next week and help Arsenal reach their first Champions League final since 2006.
Arsenal were beaten by an excellent PSG team 1-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday night, leaving them with a huge challenge at the Parc des Princes. Ousmane Dembele's early goal stunned a fervent home crowd, and the Gunners took their time to get a grasp on proceedings as a result of the visitors' technical supremacy and astute positional fluidity.
While PSG missed chances late, Arsenal rallied on either side of the half-time interval but were thwarted by a couple of excellent Gianluigi Donnarumma saves.
“The margins are so small," the boss commented post-match (via arsenal.com). "We have two massive chances, probably the best two chances of the game with Gabi and Leo, one-on-one with the keeper. He managed to save them and then obviously the goal was disallowed. That's the margins and unfortunately, we couldn't score.”
A more balanced final hour should give the Gunners hope of pegging Luis Enrique's men back next Wednesday, but it may well require a near-perfect performance.
Mikel Arteta determined to oversee second-leg comeback vs PSG
At 1-0, Arsenal are still well in this Champions League semi-final, and the boss was keen to remind us all post-match.
“It’s just half-time, I said exactly the same message after beating Real Madrid 3-0 at home," he said. "We go to Paris to win, and I fully believe that we can do it."
The Gunners have embarked on a special continental campaign, and Tuesday's defeat shouldn't seep the confidence out of a team which has already secured a record-breaking away victory in Eindhoven and won at the Santiago Bernabeu during the knockout stages. Winning at the Parc des Princes, which will be leaping from its foundations, in this context would be the hallmark of European champions.
“That's what we have to do,” Arteta added. “If you want to win the Champions League or be in the final, you have to do something exceptional in the tournament at some point. That's what we have to now plan and do when we get to Paris in a few days."
We've seen the French behemoths succumb in dramatic style before, including at home to Manchester United in 2019, but Enrique's men have shown this calendar year that they're made of sterner stuff. The frailties from years past have seemingly dissipated, with the Spaniard creating a technical, unified juggernaut laden with grit and industry.
As Arteta said, it's going to take something "exceptional".