What Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal squad privately think of PSG ahead of Champions League semi-final

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final of the Champions League.

The Gunners are in the final four of the Champions League for the first time since 2009.

Arsenal beat Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to book their spot in the semi-final, where PSG await.

Luis Enrique’s side overcame Liverpool and then Aston Villa to reach the last four, with another English club standing in their way of the final in Munich.

• READ MORE: Declan Rice outstanding once again but there’s a 5/10 disappointment in the Arsenal player ratings vs Real Madrid

Declan Rice shares PSG assessment ahead of Champions League semi-final

The quarter-final was a tie to behold for Arsenal, who thrashed Real Madrid to ruin the fairytale ‘remondata’ narrative that had been built before the second leg.

Mikel Arteta’s side won 2-1 on the night at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scoring the goals. 

Though the duo were on the scoresheet, it was Declan Rice who haunted Real Madrid again, picking up another man-of-the-match award. 

After the game, the midfielder spoke to TNT Sports, where he shared what the Arsenal squad think of semi-final opponents PSG. 

“Top team, played them once already, we feel like they’re a different team than back then,” Rice said.

“We’ve seen what they can do, but also we saw what Villa done to them last night and they caused them a lot of problems.”

Aston Villa fought hard in the tie to win the second leg 3-2 at Villa Park, but the damage was already done, seeing the Parisiens advance with a 5-4 aggregate win. 

Rice revealed that the Arsenal side recognises the positive change PSG have undergone since the two clubs met in October, with a different contest expected in the semis. 

Mikel Arteta shares ‘incredible’  PSG verdict

It wasn’t only the midfielder who noted PSG’s recent rise, as Arteta also applauded Enrique’s work after watching Tuesday night’s clash.

“I watched the game last night, another crazy game. So anything can happen in this competition,” the Arsenal manager told TNT Sports. 

“They’re an incredible team, I know the manager really, really well, and let’s enjoy tonight and start to think of that one tomorrow.”

If there’s one thing Arsenal deserve to do after their quarter-final heroics, it’s to celebrate their monumental win over the Champions League holders.

To beat Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate amid the comeback noise was something quite remarkable, and now, PSG are lurking in the distance ahead of the next challenge.