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It’s 5838 days since Arsenal last played in a Champions League semi-final. On that night, alas, the dream was dead by 7.56pm.
Meet PSG’s president
Khelaifi is, in the words of one seasoned observer, “the most powerful person in sport that nobody has heard of”. That oversight is probably true of a British public to which his influence is yet to cut through. If nothing else the Qatari should receive a slightly more amenable welcome at Arsenal that the one afforded in November by fans of Bayern Munich, who certainly seemed well versed in his various functions when PSG visited.
There is one man at the Emirates tonight who knows what it’s like to be European champion.
Mikel Arteta’s pre-match thoughts
We’re excited: it’s a big game, a big night for us and a massive opportunity to take the next step.
[On the atmosphere] We have to generate one of the most amazing nights at this stadium [Theo Walcott, on Amazon Prime, whips out his boots in accordance with Arteta’s pre-match instructions]. Get ready, get ready just in case!
The game is about passion, energy and connecting with people. We’ve all experienced it – when you feel that on the pitch, it makes such a difference.
[On Arsene Wenger making a rare appearance at the Emirates] The reason I am here, the reason a lot of us are here, is because of him. Hopefully we can give him something back.
[On setting Arsenal’s ambitions higher than their recent achievements] I really believe it, I’m convinced about it. We have the capacity. We’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 months. In June we started to prepare for moments like this, and now it’s about delivering. Just express yourself and go for it.
The team look ready. Of course there will be difficult moments, we are prepared for that. Adapt to any context; any context is good for us. Live it, embrace it, and then you have to earn the right to win the game. In order to achieve that, every individual has to step up.
In a surprising development, Mikel Arteta chose this week to reference the famous Pie & Pints match of November 1986.
I tell them [the supporters], and I’m not exaggerating here: ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your T-shirts and let’s play every ball together. We want to do something special. The place has to be something special, something that we haven’t seen. I really hope that everybody that comes to the Emirates and is watching and following us, brings that energy with them.
Yellow cards were wiped after the quarter-finals. So if anybody wants to miss the second leg, they’ll have to get the extra mile and get themselves sent off tonight.
Désiré Doué, 19, starts in attack for PSG tonight
Désiré had a great career ahead of him from a young age. He was a creative player. He liked to make the difference individually, but he was also driven by the collective.
Having completed Real Madrid, Declan Rice’s next challenge is to deal with João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha.
Arteta’s plan was for Rice to be a No 6 and clean up at the base of midfield. He called him a lighthouse, describing him as a player with the ability to guide his teammates, but soon saw that his new signing was capable of shining in more advanced areas. “He plays very, very high in Arsenal,” Thomas Tuchel, England’s manager, said of Rice last month. “He plays sometimes as a defensive second striker. When they press high he’s sometimes a double striker. He plays in the left 10 pocket.”
No surprises in the Paris Saint-Germain team either. Desire Doue replaces Bradley Barcola in the only change from the second leg of their quarter-final against Aston Villa.
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
Substitutes: Safonov, Tenas, Kimpembe, Goncalo Ramos, Lee, L Hernandez, Mayulu, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Mbaye.
The Arsenal team is as expected, with just one enforced change from the win at the Bernabeu. Leandro Trossard replaces the suspended Thomas Partey, so Mikel Merino will move back into midfield.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis, Kabia, Nwaneri.
Leandro Trossard starts up top for Arsenal this evening. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
Champions League: previews and predictions for the semi-finals
Luis Enrique has the luxury of selecting from a full squad. The PSG manager named a strong team for the 3-1 loss to Nice on Friday – PSG’s first Ligue 1 defeat this season. Enrique must decide which of his attackers to drop, with Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola battling to join Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the frontline. Otherwise, the rest of the XI picks itself. His midfield trio of João Neves, Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz have been impressive this season and will look to dictate in the middle.
Champions League: previews and predictions for the semi-finals
Arsenal have never lost to Paris Saint-Germain, though it’s a small sample size. These are their previous meetings.
Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, 1993-94
- Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Arsenal
- Arsenal 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
I think the chant “1-0 to the Arsenal” was born in the first leg of that game, when they were ahead at half-time. Either that or I’ve been dreaming about Arsenal and the Pet Shop Boys again.
Champions League group stage, 2016-17
Champions League league state, 2024-25
Tonight, on a blissful spring evening in North London, 60,000 virgins will assemble in a a four-tiered bowl with polycarbonate roofing. We should probably explain that, eh.
Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, who meet at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, are arguably the biggest clubs never to become champions of Europe. That gives tonight’s game a unique excitement: it’s both a heavyweight clash and a meeting of wide-eyed dreamers.
The last time Arsenal played in a Champions League semi-final, in May 2009, even Myles Lewis-Skelly, aged 2, barely know who the eff Myles Lewis-Skelly was. This is PSG’s fourth semi-final in the last six years, by contrast, but their first without Eminem. That’s another feature of this game – the two teams are just that, with an emphasis on the collective and an absence of galacticos.
If you combined all the votes in last year’s Ballon d’Or for the 22 players involved tonight, they’d still only have finished 18th. This is going to change in the future, perhaps the very near future. But that’s the point: right now, at 6pm BST on 29 April 2025, the players and fans of Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have it all ahead of them.
Kick off 8pm.
The front cover of the matchday programme. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
