Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha
The Parc des Princes prepares to host another UEFA Champions League fixture. The newly crowned French League One Champions, PSG, face off against Arsenal in what would be a decisive fixture for a spot in the Final in Munich come May 31st.
Having witnessed yesterday's breathtaking fixture between Inter Milan and Barcelona at the Estadio Giuseppe Meazza, with the home side narrowly piping the men from Catalonia, football fans worldwide would be hoping for such level of intrigue or even more in this fixture.
This tie is a continuation of the first leg in North London, where the Les Parisiens emerged as victors with a goal advantage.
But it's just only a week and a day since these two decorative clubs encountered each other, so only a marginal to no change should have occurred in both sides since then.
In this pre-match analysis, several factors as it concerns these two clubs shall be considered.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Both teams have faced off against each other 4 times in the UEFA Champions League history, with both teams securing a victory apiece.
The first victory for the Gunners occurred on the 1st day of October 2024 in the group stage of this season's UEFA Champions League, where they won 2-0 at home.
PSG's victory on the other hand came recently in the first leg fixture of the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League semifinals tie away at the Emirates Stadium.
2 of their encounters ended in stalemate. The first being a 1-1 draw in Paris on 13th of September 2016, and the second was 2-2 draw on the 23rd of November 2016.
From these stats, we can see that Arsenal have never won at the Parc des Princes in the history of the UEFA Champions League. So, this tie might prove challenging for them, if they are to inscribe a new narrative in the historical journal of this competition by defeating PSG this night.
RECENT PERFORMANCE
Disappointingly, both teams lost their league matches on Sunday: Arsenal were defeated 1-2 at home by Bournemouth, while PSG lost 1-2 away at Strasbourg.
We can come to understand PSG's situation: they really don't have a real competitive intention for playing league matches any longer, since they've already been declared winners of the French League One. So, giving regular staters rest was optimal in order to keep them fresh for Arsenal.
But looking at Arsenal's own case, we can cast a groan of criticism for their defeat. They played at home knowing fully well that the remaining league fixture is paramount since their Champions League spot for next seasons is not yet sealed.
In as much as PSG lost to Strasbourg, it would be quite hash not to recognize an outstanding performance put up by these reserve players- one that is a cachet of theirs for most of this season. when we look at their stats for this match, they were domineering in all aspects of performance: overall possession - 64% compared to Strasbourg's 36%, total shots - 19 with 4 being on target, while Strasbourg had a total shot of 9 and only 2 were on target.
Arsenal's fixture against Bournemouth was somewhat of a disappointment for them. Defensively, they weren't at their usual peak as we've seen them for most of this season. They couldn't properly defend against set pieces- Bournemouth's two goals came, in fact, as a result of this inadequacy. Offensively, they lacked that killer instinct to produce enough goals- a major reason being the absence of a proper number 9.
POSSIBLE GAME PLAN
Both teams might probably opt for similar structure with only subtle tactical differences. This prediction is given based on events in first leg encounter and mostly due to the fact that both coaches share somewhat similarities in playing style and coaching philosophy.
So, for Arsenal, we might see a 4-3-3 formation on paper: David Raya in post, the two central back pairing of Saliba and Kiwior, Timber at right back, Skelly at left-back, the three midfielders of Partey in the holding role, Declan Rice and Odegaard who would operate as box-to-box midfielders(dropping to the midfield when they need to in order to provide passing options, and operating in half spaces higher up the pitch to provide attacking presence for Arsenal), the two wingers- Saka at right wing and Martinelli at the left flank(providing width for the team in order to stretch PSG's shape to create space for the central players to exploit, while also seeking to take on their marker(s) head on themselves), and the false 9- a role that could be taken up by either Moreno or Trossard, who could drop to create overload in midfield or the flanks.
One thing that needs emphasizing here is the dynamic behaviour of the box-to-box midfielders and the front three-a phenomenon evident in their game against Bournemouth. These players could constantly interchange positions so as to disorientate PSG defensive structure.
PSG on the other hand could also opt for a 4-3-3 formation: Donnaruma in post, Mendez at left back, Maquinhos and Pacho in the central back positions, Hakimi at right back, the three-midfield trio of Ruiz,Vitinha and Nevez(any of them can operate in the holding midfield position) , the front three of Dembele in the false 9 role, any two players of Doue, Barcola or Kravashkelia could play from in the flanks.
Like Arsenal, PSG wingers could probably maintain the width for the team; Dembele would be given the license of roaming about: dropping deeper to the midfield region to collect the ball or even going to the flanks to partner with the wingers.
For sure, both teams would strive to maintain ball possession, as it is central to both coaches' playing style. We might also see a lot of direct balls to the front players, due to their speed level. For Arsenal, we might see much of their attacking plays coming from the right flank with Odegaard coming to this part to combine with Saka and Timber or who so ever that would start at right back- as they've done several times this season. Dembele would pose serious problems for Arsenal. Reason being that he is a good dribbler of the ball and also a good shooter. So, since he is operating in this more central position closer to the opponent's goal, he could exploit these skill sets of his to the maximum to create goal scoring opportunities- as we did see in the first leg. So, Arsenal could have a really hard time defending against PSG.
These are simply predictions of mine, anything could be the case in this tie. But whatsoever it is, we hope to see an intriguing game of football.
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