Parisian Power Ends Arsenal’s Champions League Dream
Arsenal’s hopes of ending their Champions League drought came crashing down in the French capital, as Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the final with a 2-1 second-leg win, sealing a 3-1 aggregate triumph. It was a night of fine margins, contentious decisions, and ultimately, another dose of European heartache for the Gunners.
Coming into the second leg trailing 1-0, Mikel Arteta’s men knew they had to start fast—and they did. Declan Rice’s early header flashed just wide, Gabriel Martinelli forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a save, and Martin Ødegaard stung the keeper’s gloves with a long-range effort—all within the opening quarter of an hour. Arsenal were dominant, PSG were rattled, and the script looked ready to be rewritten.
But this is the Champions League, and PSG under Luis Enrique have learned to win ugly. Their first-half response was clinical. A foul by Rice on the dangerous Kvaratskhelia led to a poorly cleared set-piece. Fabian Ruiz was the beneficiary, and his strike—helped on its way by a Saliba deflection—beat Raya to make it 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.
From there, Arsenal’s momentum began to wane. PSG grew in confidence and nearly doubled their lead when Vitinha saw a penalty saved by Raya after a harsh handball decision against Myles Lewis-Skelly—VAR yet again taking centre stage in a critical moment.
The killer blow came from Achraf Hakimi in the 72nd minute. After Partey’s poor clearance, the full-back’s driven effort found the corner and sent the Parc des Princes into raptures. PSG were 3-0 up on aggregate, and a shell-shocked Arsenal had a mountain too steep to climb.
A glimmer of hope emerged when substitute Leandro Trossard kept a ball in play and set up Bukayo Saka for a cool finish around Donnarumma. But Saka would later miss a golden opportunity, blazing over from close range when an equaliser on the night would have made the final minutes nervy for the hosts.
For Arsenal, it was another trip to Paris filled with disappointment, echoing the ghosts of their 2006 final defeat to Barcelona. While their progress this season has shown signs of European maturity, the semi-final stage remains a barrier unbroken.
Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, continue their streak of slaying English opposition, having now taken down Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal en route to the final. Their reward? A blockbuster date with Inter Milan in Munich on May 31.
