LOSS UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Arsenal 0 - 1 Paris Saint-Germain (1st Leg) | Tuesday, 29th April | KO: 20:00 BST | Amazon Prime Video/TNT Sports

So here it is…



5th May 2009

The biggest movies of the year were Inglorious Basterds, Avatar and the Hurt Locker. Dizzee Rascal and Kanye West (ahem) dominated the charts and David Cameron was still sat in opposition.

Lionel Messi was about to win his first Ballon d’Or AND Arsenal last played in the semi finals of a Champions League. We’ve waited almost 16 years… so many false dawns and even a half decade in the footballing wilderness of the Europa League but now…

WE’RE BACK!

You have to go even further back for our last winning semi final effort with this heart stopper against Villarreal in 2006.



That’s right almost 20 years since that famous night in the then Madrigal. Hopefully the spirit of Jens won’t be needed by Raya over the two legs…

Predicted Team



After the last round the line-up pretty much sets itself. The big hope is that both Merino and White come through their injury scares.

Whilst obviously it’s Merino who’s most important the bench is looking very light with this game probably arriving too soon for Calafiori and Jorginho even though they should be back for the return leg.

The threat of the team depending on whether it’s Trossard or Merino up front is night and day. In a few short weeks Merino has proven to be our signing of the season raking with both goals and assists.

The Opposition

After defeating the biggest name in club football in the quarter finals we now face probably the most in form.

From the new year they’ve won 23, drawn 2 and lost 2 with those two losses coming in legs against Villa and Liverpool when they still managed to progress regardless.

Now whilst as per usual they have steamrollered Ligue 1 their form in the CL has been iffy. A lot of people point to their form post January when they’ve comprehensively slapped up City (although so did we and even Real Madrid managed it) and Stuggart but to my eyes they have looked very uncertain at times against Villa and Liverpool.

Villa in particular had them fully on the ropes looking dazed and PSG needed a dodgy injury time allocation to really get them over the line.

PSG are one of the four other clubs that our manager has played for, and we have an unbeaten record against them having won twice and drawn three of our previous competitive matches, a record we extended earlier this season in the Group Stage when we comprehensively put them away.



Notice both goals coming from crosses… set pieces have proven to be a constant weakness for them this year so hopefully Joever has been cooking something up in the lab.

There are a few former players who’ve played for both clubs ranging from the ridiculous (David Luiz and Kaba Diawara) to the sublime with our once upon a time teenage phenom Nicolas Anelka sandwiching his time at Arsenal and Real between two stints with the Parisians.



Danger Man

extended. Again this isn’t necessarily the star studded PSG team that’s so embarrassingly flattered to deceive in Europe over the years.

Gone are the “Galacticos” of Neymar, Mbappe, Messi, Ramos and Cavani now replaced with a glittering array of youngsters such as Zaire-Emery, Barcola and in particular Desire Doue who looks scarily good.

We could also say Kvaratskhelia who’s arrival in January has coincided with a higher level for PSG but in terms of danger men it has to be the man with more goals than starts this year…



Ousmane Dembele who has been in frightening form in both Ligue 1 and Champions League.

COYG LETS SMASH THEM

 

[MD3 Gunner]

Unless we win the 2nd leg, this manager should be gone. If the owners actually pressurized him, he wouldn’t have been this useless

 

[viktor]

Unless we win the 2nd leg, this manager should be gone. If the owners actually pressurized him, he wouldn’t have been this useless

if we get knock out at semi final ucl then berta must try convince kroenke to sack arteta in tunnel after psg game second leg

 

[bergholt]

Unless we win the 2nd leg, this manager should be gone. If the owners actually pressurized him, he wouldn’t have been this useless

I think he coaches pretty well but has a seriously unbalanced and mediocre squad - but maybe that's his fault anyway

 

[viktor]

Arteta making zero subs until minute 80, only to bring on Ben White. Ethan was given what, two minutes to try something?

 

[MD3 Gunner]

I think he coaches pretty well but has a seriously unbalanced and mediocre squad - but maybe that's his fault anyway

Watch his first summer signing be another CB/goalkeeper

 

[Rasmi]

I think he coaches pretty well but has a seriously unbalanced and mediocre squad - but maybe that's his fault anyway

Not maybe….it is his fault cause he built the squad

 

[bergholt]

If PSG parked the bus next week then we'd have almost zero chance, but it sounds like that's not what they do. If they keep playing the ball then I think we're still a 40% chance to progress.

 

[bergholt]

Not maybe….it is his fault cause he built the squad

Never clear to me from the outside how much say the manager gets in transfers. I guess it'll become clearer now that Edu is out and Berta is in.

 

[viktor]

I think our fan base is too arrogant and entitled.

Apparently wanting trophies makes you "entitled" ?? LOL, the fact is when fans wanting major trophy that is MUST as standard for big club especially for biggest club in london who trophyless epl for 20 years + never won ucl

 

[HimalayanGooner]

O

Watch his first summer signing be another CB/goalkeeper

or he will sign Nunez or some other city/chelsea reject lol

 

[MD3 Gunner]

Apparently wanting trophies makes you "entitled" ?? LOL, the fact is when fans wanting major trophy that is MUST as standard for big club especially for biggest club in london who trophyless epl for 20 years + never won ucl

Small club mentality mate. They’re just happy with top 4 and UCL football every season with no output

 

[Diesel]

Team pissed it's pants in the first 25. Then closed the game that could have been3-0 PSG. Difference is PSG hit the post our forwards fluffed shots right at their giant.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Still think we created enough to beat them, Donnarumma just had a blinder of a game.

 

[MD3 Gunner]

Still think we created enough to beat them, Donnarumma just had a blinder of a game.

Apart from the Martinelli and Trossard saves we honestly didn’t do much did we ? Got unlucky with the disallowed goal though

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Apart from the Martinelli and Trossard saves we honestly didn’t do much did we ? Got unlucky with the disallowed goal though

Those were the two I was thinking about tbh but I'm sure there were more just on no sleep rn.

 

[El Realista]

Yes. I would have done the same thing. Timber at centre back and MLS into midfield with White at right back. Keep Merino up front.

I don't get how you are losing it at home and can't try something different of his script. Ødegaard was poor, sub on the talented arsenal kid. Get Merino up top, just try something different instead of looking without ambition at home.

 

[El Realista]

Yeah it was clear we needed to change it up, but at the same time we ain’t winning **** with Ødegaard “playing” like this no matter what we do tactically so it’s all whatever really.

Only chance we have is individual brilliance and superhuman defensive effort in the second leg.

There was Nwaneri on the bench... But he gave him only 5 facking minutes. That's disgusting. For that kind of things I don't see him winning anything here or somewhere else. Always too coward to not bottle it. Ødegaard was playing badly then try the kid from the academy which is hungry to show the world what he is made of. But no, he doesn't have the character to risk something to win it.

 

[El Realista]

Oh just feck off will you. Save your Arteta bashing for another time. It’s constant and you can’t help yourself. Everyone is in pain right now and nobody gives a f..k about your agenda just after we’ve lost. Let people grieve and process this without this nonsense.

I give you my address so you come and say it in my face little Arteta cheerleader

 

[El Realista]

at that time arteta already promised to us that he will give champions league trophy in three years, so this project should already over since 3 years ago

View attachment 34204

That was his plan, but he is not a good planner TBF ... In deludedland he won 3 UCL in a row. Arteta's lovers still thinking the "process" is not just retorics BS.

 

[El Realista]

Small club mentality mate. They’re just happy with top 4 and UCL football every season with no output

Wenger had planes flying over the Emirates for the same outcome while not getting financial support. This clown has a whole club of cheerleaders licking their feet for having fear of losing the game worse at Emirates.

And you know what people don't realise? All this because uncle Thomas (the so hated here) got banned and couldn't play. That was enough to unbalance his whole tactics. He couldn't figure it out during the game to chase the result but just "damage control". That's disgusting.