Mikel Arteta maintained a brave face despite his side’s 1–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
Buoyed by their back-to-back wins over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, Arsenal entered the game as favorites but were brought down to earth by an efficient PSG side that has shown strong form against English Premier League teams in the competition this season.
In-form French star Ousmane Dembélé’s third-minute goal proved to be the difference, and the scoreline could have been worse if not for Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya’s crucial saves.
To their credit, Arsenal created moments of their own, but PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma delivered a man-of-the-match performance, making five decisive saves.
With the second leg coming up next Wednesday, Arteta remains optimistic that his team can rise to the occasion.
“We are at half-time, and my message is exactly the same as it was after we beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final. We have to go to Paris and win the game, and we are more than capable of doing it.
“If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special, and we are going to have to do something special in Paris to be there. We still have a lot of chances to be in that final,” Arteta said after the game.
Meanwhile, PSG aims to complete a hat-trick of eliminations against English sides in this year’s competition, having already dispatched Liverpool and Aston Villa.
READ MORE: Dembélé silences Arsenal as PSG snatch first leg win in Champions League semifinal tie
