Ousmane Dembélé\'s fourth-minute strike gave Paris Saint-Germain a crucial 1-0 away victory over Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium. The French champions dominated early proceedings, completing 26 consecutive passes before Dembélé converted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia\'s assist.
Arsenal struggled to establish rhythm in the opening half hour as PSG controlled possession with their relentless pressing and fluid attacking movement. The Gunners gradually found their footing later in the match but couldn\'t convert their chances.
\"Not a lot,\" Mikel Arteta said when asked what led to the early PSG goal. \"I\'m telling you it\'s just something that is very specific but very important, especially the way we played. We corrected it and it\'s not easy to correct it constantly but we did it and we did it much better.\"
Key Opportunities Missed
Arsenal had a Mikel Merino goal disallowed for offside early in the second half, while Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both forced crucial saves from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
\"And in the end, we have two of our front players one v. one with Donnarumma, if they scored the goal, it\'s different,\" Arteta added. \"He made the saves like he did against Liverpool and Villa and that\'s the difference in the Champions League, the margins are so small.\"
Despite generating an expected goals (xG) advantage of 1.59 to 1.15, Arsenal now face a significant challenge in the second leg at Parc des Princes next Wednesday if they hope to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.
PSG nearly extended their lead late in the match when substitutes Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos both missed clear opportunities, with Ramos striking the crossbar when one-on-one with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.