Arsenal are looking to create history with a huge comeback against PSG in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final encounter.
A disappointing performance at the Emirates Stadium has left the Gunners with work to do at the Parc des Princes next week.
PSG lead Arsenal 1-0, with Ousmane Dembele’s strike just four minutes into the tie proving to be the difference after 90 minutes.
Mikel Arteta will be searching deep within his squad to find a way to mount a comeback, with a place in the Champions League final at stake.
While Arsenal don’t have much to draw on in terms of their own comebacks in the competition, they can draw on those of their Premier League rivals, with Manchester United showing them how it’s done a few years back.
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What Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said about PSG comeback could inspire Arsenal
Arsenal are a team that has been emotionally charged over the past few years, as they look to get that next major trophy over the line.
The Gunners will have their work cut out to get themselves the Champions League, though, with a comeback needed against a PSG side that played like a team much more experienced than they are.
The French giants are no strangers to being on the end of surprising comebacks, not least in 2019 against Manchester United.
Then-interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge of the Red Devils as they lost 2-0 at home to PSG in the Champions League round of 16.
An exit seemed almost certain, but his words went on to make history, as he said: “You can see that we’ve not played games at this level for a while, and we’ll have to learn from this experience. It’s not going to be a season-defining one for us.
“Mountains are there to be climbed. You can’t lie down. Today was a reality check on the level from the top teams.”
Manchester United managed just that, climbing that mountain as they won 3-1 away from home in one of the most unlikely comeback stories in the competition.
While it was a night that most Arsenal fans wouldn’t have enjoyed, seeing their rivals win in those circumstances, the turnaround can now be used as fuel to help push them on.
Plenty has changed in the six years since that comeback, but the premise of a comeback is on the cards, and the Gunners are still firmly in the tie, but they will have to move some mountains to get to the final.
- READ MORE: Former club doctor explains Ousmane Dembele injury timeframe before Arsenal’s second leg with PSG
Arsenal need a fast start against PSG for Champions League comeback
One thing that Arsenal definitely didn’t do at the Emirates Stadium was make a quick start.
Dembele’s opener, just four minutes into the tie, came as something of an uppercut to the side as they barely settled into the rhythm of it.
It wasn’t truly until the 40th minute that the Gunners felt settled and were able to cause problems against PSG.
In the away tie, they have to flip the script and be the ones on the front foot to create chaos in the final third.
In Manchester United’s comeback against PSG, goals from Romelu Lukaku in the second and 30th minute got his team on their way.
Arsenal will need something similar to create the nerves for the home fans and put themselves in the driving seat.
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