Arsenal will have to win at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain if they’re to progress into the final of the Champions League.
The Gunners currently trail the French giants by one goal at half-time in the tie, with Ousmane Dembele’s fourth-minute strike at the Emirates separating the two sides.
Both teams suffered defeats over the weekend, with Arsenal losing at home to Bournemouth while PSG were beaten by Strasbourg.
However, Luis Enrique managed to rest most of his key players in the Ligue 1 clash, while Mikel Arteta fielded a very strong team against the Cherries, potentially meaning the Parisians will come into the second leg fresher than their London counterparts.
Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal have ‘mental’ advantage over PSG
Arsenal improved as the game went on at the Emirates, with Arteta working out how the Gunners could evade the PSG press and how they could use their superior physicality to trump Enrique’s team.
However, the onus will be on the North Londoners to turn things around at the Parc des Princes, which, in theory, should suit PSG’s electric transition players.
That said, Arsene Wenger has a different outlook on the state of affairs at the mid-way point in the tie.
Speaking on beIN Sports to Richard Keys and Andy Gray, Wenger revealed his belief that the psychology of how the tie is poised will suit the Gunners.
“That is difficult to predict [the impact of Arsenal’s loss to Bournemouth] because what is interesting in the Champions League when you go away and you at home, is that every time you start the second leg, the second tie, you have a mental problem to resolve,” he said.
“The advantage of Arsenal is that the mental problem is easy. They have to go and play and win. The mental problem for Paris Saint-Germain is, ‘do we play to win this game or do we play to protect our advantage and get them on the counter-attack?’
“Knowing that with this you have to be very clear in your message to the team. Knowing as well that not everybody in the team will necessarily be aligned with you.
“Because if they decide to protect their advantage, it’s a little bit against the DNA of the team. So, Luis Enrique has come out already and said, ‘look, we have another game to win’.
“I believe that with a final in mind, and you play at home, it’ll be very difficult to have a passive attitude.”
Arsenal are more suited to the game state than PSG
Wenger’s correct; bunkering in a low block doesn’t suit PSG and it’s very much against the DNA of Enrique’s side.
The French team don’t possess good box defenders, while their central midfielders are most effective defensively when they’re counter-pressing high up the pitch, rather than sitting deep.
They’re also ineffective at defending with the ball – they’re not confident dominating with sterile possession in a way that Arsenal can.
PSG constantly want to press and hit their opponent quickly when forcing high turnovers, and it’ll be very interesting to see how they adapt to having the lead.
They’ll likely continue to play in this way, which should leave spaces open for Arsenal to exploit in transition.
Add in the possibility that Dembele isn’t involved due to a hamstring injury, and the Gunners have plenty of reason to believe that they may have the upper hand.
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