Arsenal have been beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Ousmane Dembele got the game’s only goal in the fourth minute, finishing well past David Raya after a kiss from the right-hand post.
Arsenal thought they had equalised immediately after half-time when Mikel Merino headed in from Declan Rice’s wide free kick. But the Spaniard was offside and the goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review.
There were further chances at both ends, with Gianluigi Donnarumma making a vital save from Leandro Trossard before Goncalo Ramos rattled the crossbar at the other end, but it finished 1-0 for PSG.
The two teams will meet again next Wednesday for the second leg at the Parc des Princes.
There is work to do for Arsenal in the second leg after that disappointing and frustrating result at the Emirates. Here’s how we rate every Arsenal performance in the game:
Raya: 7 — stepped up when needed and withstood pressure from PSG late in the game.
Timber: 5 — never looked comfortable against Kvaratskhelia, a tough night.
Saliba: 7 — a vital second-half tackle to deny Hakimi, unafraid to bring the ball into midfield.
Kiwior: 6 — involved as Arsenal worked the ball around to try and find an opening but always looked under pressure from PSG’s attackers.
Lewis-Skelly: 7 — took no nonsense from Doue in the second half and handled Barcola well too.
Odegaard: 6 — did not stamp his authority on the game as Arsenal searched for the pass to unlock PSG.
Rice: 7 — took the game by the scruff of the neck with driving runs from midfield.
Merino: 6 — thought he had scored but for VAR, then had a job to control things in the middle.
Saka: 7 — a much improved second half, looked a likely source of a goal for Arsenal but was unable to get a clear opening
Trossard: 6 — had a shot saved early in the half after good movement from the left wing, more involved than in the first half.
Martinelli: 6 — skied a shot in added time, could not come up with a moment of magic for Arsenal.
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(NYT)
