Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain will be one of the biggest games that has ever taken place at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners host PSG on Tuesday night in front of what is sure to be a ferocious atmosphere in N5, before travelling to the French capital to take on Luis Enrique’s side at the Parc des Princes in the second leg the following week.
A meeting with either Barcelona or Inter Milan awaits in the final in Munich at the end of May.
Liverpool are set to be crowned Premier League champions, so all focus is on Europe’s elite competition for the North Londoners, with Mikel Arteta’s men looking to create history over the next month.
Why Arsenal blocked tifo for PSG clash funded by fan group
The Emirates created an exceptional atmosphere during Arsenal’s first leg win over Real Madrid, and the Gunners faithful will be looking to replicate this when PSG come to visit.
Arteta has spoken about how important the home crowd are in games of this magnitude, and the club will be doing everything they can to maximise the decibel levels in Islington on Tuesday night.
To many people’s surprise, Arsenal blocked a tifo organised and crowd-funded by a Gunners fan group.
The Ashburton Army had planned to roll out a large tifo for the PSG encounter and raised over £10,000 to produce it.
However, Arsenal disapproved of the plans, leaving many supporters confused.
It’s now been confirmed that the reason for the club’s disapproval of the banner was because they already have something else in the works.
Arsenal have announced that a cannon design tifo will be suspended from the roof of the stadium in the North Bank, something which has never been done before.
What Leandro Trossard said about the Emirates atmosphere before Arsenal v PSG
PSG will be a stern test for Arsenal, with the Ligue 1 outfit posing a significant threat offensively.
Thus, the Gunners will need every marginal gain they can garner at the Emirates, to ensure they take a lead with them to Paris.
The crowd being hostile towards the travelling team is certainly a margin Arsenal can take advantage of, and Leandro Trossard has already stressed the importance of this.
Speaking after the Crystal Palace game on Wednesday, the winger said: “I think everyone is up for it. We’ve now got a six-day lead up to it, we need to rest up now, prepare really well, and I think everyone will be up for it.
“With the home crowd behind us, there needs to be an electric atmosphere, and they will push us forward.
“We want the same as last time, they were incredible in the home game against Madrid. If we can do that again, it would be amazing.”
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