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Arsenal cruised to a comfortable and deserved victory over Paris Saint-Germain after excelling in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.
Following a draw in their first match of this new Champions League league phase the Gunners hoped to overcome the French champions and signal that they are a team which can go all the way in this tournament.
Mikel Arteta’s side started slowly, absorbing a bit of early pressure and playing themselves into the game. They drew PSG out of position and broke down the left wing through Leandro Trossard. He flicked the ball into the box and found Kai Havertz who headed in the opener.
It was one of many chances Arsenal created in the first 20 minutes or so and when Bukayo Saka added a second from a wide free kick the hosts were well on top. In the second half, PSG responded well but couldn’t find a way through Arsenal’s stubborn defence.
The Gunners saw out the match, took the three points and are on track to move towards the top eight and an automatic spot in the knockout rounds.
Relive the Champions League updates below:
With its new league phase it is clear the Champions League has surrendered its competitive edge
A “big Champions League night” that ended up being quite a nice-run out for Arsenal. Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain looked less a sportswashing project and more a youth project. The level of superiority in this 2-0 win is again to Arsenal’s credit, but should also be a worry for Uefa.
This was one of the big-name fixtures that the new Champions League was sold on - more games between the best, more fixtures, more, more, more - and yet it didn’t really feel like either side treated it as a match of much consequence. It was a world away, say, from 2000-01 when Lyon came to North London and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal absolutely knew they had to do something.
If it is by now becoming tedious to read about these issues, it is worth remembering that such themes only arise because very little of consequence happens on the pitch. Here, in just the second of eight games, Arsenal got the win that already puts them more than half-way to the top 24. PSG, by contrast, already had their victory from the opening 1-0 win over Girona. It consequently felt like both teams were looking at the game in a wider context, rather than necessarily treating it as an exacting Champions League occasion in itself.
How the Champions League surrendered its competitive edge
Arsenal 2-0 PSG: Despite being a big game between big teams, Arsenal cruised to victory against PSG in a match that lacked tension
Arteta on Kai Havertz:
“He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together. Hs work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to Amazon Prime:
“Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don’t have the ball.
“The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.
“We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well.”
PSG’s unfortunate away trips
Since beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in December 2020, Paris St-Germain have lost all four of their away Champions League matches in England, losing twice to Manchester City and once apiece to Newcastle and Arsenal.
Arsenal cruise past PSG at the Emirates Stadium
Arsenal cruised to a comfortable and deserved victory over Paris Saint-Germain after excelling in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.
Following a draw in their first match of this new Champions League league phase the Gunners hoped to overcome the French champions and signal that they are a team which can go all the way in this tournament.
Mikel Arteta’s side started slowly, absorbing a bit of early pressure and playing themselves into the game. They drew PSG out of position and broke down the left wing through Leandro Trossard. He flicked the ball into the box and found Kai Havertz who headed in the opener.
It was one of many chances Arsenal created in the first 20 minutes or so and when Bukayo Saka added a second from a wide free kick the hosts were well on top. In the second half, PSG responded well but couldn’t find a way through Arsenal’s stubborn defence.
The Gunners saw out the match, took the three points and are on track to move towards the top eight and an automatic spot in the knockout rounds.
Arsenal’s tight defence
Arsenal have kept 17 clean sheets in 32 games in all competitions in 2024, the most of any Premier League side. Indeed, across Europe’s big-five leagues this year, only Real Madrid have kept more (18).
Arsenal eighth in table
High scoring results from the rest of tonight’s fixtures (Borussia Dortmund beat Celtic 7-1!) mean that Arsenal sit eighth in the Champions League table after two fixtures.
They’re unbeaten and have four points. It was calculated that 16 should be enough to secure an automatic spot in the knockout rounds. That’s the aim for all of these teams.
FT Arsenal 2-0 PSG
Full-time! Arsenal 2-0 PSG
90+4 mins: Calm, confident and composed. It’s the type of performance Mikel Arteta wants to regularly see from his players, especially in games such as these against the French champions.
Arsenal always looked like the better side and goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were more than enough to earn them the three points.
