PSG given huge injury update as Ousmane Dembele fitness revealed for Arsenal’s Champions League clash

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Arsenal are preparing to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

The Gunners will travel to the French capital on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the season-defining semi-final second leg at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.

PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg, courtesy of an early goal from Ousmane Dembele, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a mountain to climb in Paris.

The Spaniard could have injury issues to contend with for the crucial clash, as it’s understood that Martin Odegaard could miss the second leg, while Jurrien Timber is also a doubt.

• READ MORE: Patrick Vieira says there’s one thing he’s ‘100 per cent sure’ about Arsenal before their second leg vs PSG

Ousmane Dembele in PSG training ahead of Arsenal clash

While Arsenal have fitness concerns, Luis Enrique also has his own injury problems to worry about.

Kang-in Lee is expected to miss out, while Dembele picked up an injury in the first leg in N5.

Dembele has netted 30 goals in 42 appearances for the French giants this season, so he would be a detrimental loss to the French champions if deemed unfit.

However, according to the Standard, Dembele was in training on Tuesday morning and is now likely to be fit enough to feature for the Parisians on Wednesday.

It was thought that the extent of the Frenchman’s hamstring injury would rule him out for the European showdown, but he’s recovered well over recent days and is now in line to start for Enrique’s outfit.

Arsenal need to negate Ousmane Dembele more effectively in the second leg

Arsenal struggled to deal with Dembele early on at the Emirates.

Dropping off into the pockets and collecting the ball before turning and driving at William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior, this elusive movement was a problem for the Gunners.

It allowed PSG to break Arsenal’s press with ease in the early stages, and Arteta’s team have to do a better job of preventing this from happening at the Parc des Princes.

Negating PSG’s talisman should be more achievable with Declan Rice at the eight and Thomas Partey at the six.

This midfield configuration is more familiar to Arsenal, and Rice will have more of a licence to follow and track Dembele’s movement than he did when deployed deeper.

Limiting the moments Dembele is able to produce will be key to the Gunners’ potential success.