All in all, that will go down as an incredibly frustrating night for Arsenal.
There were some half-hearted boos aimed at referee Slavko Vinčić when he blew for full time, but Gunners fans will know their team didn’t do nearly enough to win that game.
It was a night that promised so much. It was the first time a Champions League semifinal had been played at the Emirates in 16 years and one of the biggest occasions in the history of Arsenal Football Club.
Fans turned the volume up to 11 in the build-up to a game you could sense was something special to all involved in north London.
But Ousmane Dembélé’s early goal was the perfect antidote for Paris Saint-Germain to counteract a hostile crowd inside the Emirates.
PSG impressively managed the game from then on, breaking up play with fouls or extended treatment for players who went down injured to ensure Arsenal could never find any real rhythm.
Across the pitch, players were relentless in their pressing and hounding of the opposition. Vitinha and João Neves in particular barely allowed the Arsenal midfielders space to breathe.
The Gunners are formidable opponents at home and were unbeaten in 11 Champions League games at the Emirates coming into this evening, including nine clean sheets.
Just scoring a goal here in north London is difficult enough, much less winning a match. PSG did both after winning the first leg 1-0.
Afterwards, Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique was keen to highlight just how far this tie is from being over. As it did on Tuesday in London, an early goal in the second leg in France could quickly alter the course of the tie.
“I think the match had different phases,” Enrique told reporters. “At the start, there was an incredible atmosphere and impressive noise. It was deafening but we scored an early goal and that gave us a lot of confidence.
“Arsenal began to dominate more in the second half and were dangerous. The result is good. It could have been better, and it could have been worse,” he said.
“Everything can change with one goal. We lost the first leg against Liverpool at home and then went to Anfield and won.”
There will be thousands of delighted Parisians heading back on the ferry or Eurostar over the next couple of days and after that performance, they will rightly be feeling confident of finishing the job.
Arsenal, meanwhile, has plenty of work to do ahead of the return leg.
Mikel Arteta’s team struggled to break down PSG’s defense and will need to find some solutions.
Despite a disappointing and frustrating evening, Arteta was cool, calm and collected in his post-match press conference.
The Arsenal boss frequently reiterated that he believed the margins between victory and defeat were small, and said he maintains full belief in his team turning it around.
Just as he didn’t get carried away after hammering Real Madrid 3-0, Arteta wasn’t despondent after the defeat.
“My message will be exactly the same as it was after Real Madrid 3-0 at home,” Arteta said. “We have to go to Paris and win the game, which we are capable of. I saw two great teams today and the margins are so small.
“This team (PSG) has beaten all of the English teams in the Champions League, you cannot dominate this team for 95 minutes,” he said.
“If you want to be in the Champions league final you have to do something special, and we’ll have to do something special in Paris to get there.”
The two sides will battle again in the return leg set for the Parc des Princes on May 7 with a place in the Champions League final at stake.
PSG players celebrate a job well done in north London.
They coped with a feverish atmosphere before the kickoff and quietened the home fans with such an early goal.
PSG’s own supporters were making noise non-stop and it was their voices being heard the most after full time.
This tie is far from over, but it went just about as well as PSG could have realistically hoped.
Speaking to CBS after the game, PSG star Achraf Hakimi said: “Right now, we are a team […] we are all together, run for each other and are like a family.”
The return leg is set for the Parc des Princes on May 7 with a place in the Champions League final at stake.
On the CBS post-game broadcast in the US, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry admitted that the better team won this match, as the French side held off the Gunners 1-0 in North London.
But don’t despair Arsenal fans: Henry acknowledged that the tie is far from over.
Indeed, in the quarterfinal stage of this season’s Champions League, Arsenal didn’t just hold on to their first leg victory over champions Real Madrid, but also won the away leg at the Bernabéu Stadium.
Yet the thought remains: What Arsenal would give for Henry in the prime of his career, as they try to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.
And that’s a wrap on this first leg tie.
Arsenal applied some late pressure but it was nothing to trouble PSG, which holds onto its one goal advantage heading into the second leg in the French capital next week.
That early goal from Ousmane Dembélé was a big blow for Arsenal which wasted several chances throughout the match.
In truth, though, PSG was the better team and deserved the win.
Stay tuned for all the post-match reaction.
Final score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
Arsenal’s home record this season has been remarkably good: only three defeats, to Newcastle United in the League Cup semifinal first leg, a Premier League loss to London rivals West Ham United and this loss to PSG.
The 1-0 home defeat may almost feel like the Gunners have got away with it ever so slightly, with the away leg still to come.
And as we saw this past weekend, Arsenal’s women overturned a home defeat to French opponents Lyon and advanced to the Champions League final after stunning OL in the second leg.
The Gunners squandered precious points all too easily in the Premier League this season as Liverpool cruised to a record-equaling 20th top-flight title.
But when it comes to the Champions League, Mikel Arteta’s squad put nine goals past Eindhoven over two legs in the Round of 16, then another five past defending champions Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
They have goals in them and this tie is far from done.
Time is starting to run out for Arsenal, and fast.
Frustration now seems to be the overriding emotion in the stands
The only noise inside the stadium now is the unrelenting, rhythmic clapping and drumming from the PSG corner.
That really should have been 2-0 to PSG.
Substitute Bradley Barcola gets in behind after some quick play from the visitor but somehow drags his shot wide with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Another substitute Gonçalo Ramos then hits the bar with another chance. Arsenal can’t really afford to concede another one here.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
While Arsenal has been better in the second half, it’s so far failed to find a way past PSG’s defense.
The energy doesn’t quite seem to be there for the host anymore and PSG is very happy to pass the ball around with the clock ticking down.
With just five minutes of added time left to play, it’s now or never for Arsenal in this first leg.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
In five competitive meetings, Paris Saint-Germain has yet to get the better of Arsenal, including a defeat in the group stage this season.
With minutes to play, the Parisiens are holding on to their slender lead and will be in good shape to progress to a second final this decade, though the second leg still needs to be negotiated next week.
It could be sixth time lucky for PSG in this particular head-to-head match up.
We shall see…
PSG manager Luis Enrique has just flung his arms out in frustration as a misplaced pass goes out for a throw in.
Arsenal have dominated the opening 30 minutes of the second half, but so far, a lack of quality and some fine goalkeeping from Gianluigi Donnarumma has kept the Gunners off the scoresheet.
Anticipation is building inside the Emirates with each passing Arsenal attack, and the fans can sense this is now the time to pounce.
But PSG players are now regularly going down injured to try and break up the flow of the game, much to the frustration of the Arsenal fans.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
It’s been a frantic game but things have cooled off a little in the last five minutes which will suit PSG.
The French side has also made a substitute with goalscorer Ousmane Dembélé coming off for Bradley Barcola.
The 22-year-old is a simply brilliant player, possessing so much speed and talent, so Arsenal will need to be careful of his fresh legs.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
A simply magical save from Gianluigi Donnarumma to deny Arsenal an equalizer.
The Italian goalkeeper is a big man but managed to get down so quickly to divert Leandro Trossard’s shot around the post.
Arsenal fans can’t believe their team isn’t level.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
Wow.
What a roller coaster few minutes these have been for Arsenal fans.
The noise when Mikel Merino scored almost lifted the roof of the Emirates, producing a moment of intense catharsis after a painfully frustrating first half.
An agonizing wait inside the stadium for a VAR review seemed to drag on for an age (how are VAR offside reviews still taking this long in 2025?) before the announcement that the goal had been disallowed sucked that newfound enthusiasm out of this place.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has come to PSG’s rescue.
Mikel Merino thought he had scored but the midfielder was in an offside position as Declan Rice crossed the ball.
It took a long time for VAR to determine the decision.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
On current form, Declan Rice has to be one of the best players in the world right now.
Keep in mind, prior to the games against Real Madrid, he’d never before scored a free kick in his senior professional career. Then, in a matter of minutes, came two of the finest strikes you’re likely to see in a long, long time.
Rice’s free kick just now was never intended to score but if he is given another chance, he may want to try.
All season long, Arsenal has come up with creative ways to take set-pieces, which have resulted in a decent amount of goals across the current campaign.
Alas for the Arsenal, the semi-automated technology showed that Merino had strayed offside. Nevertheless, the disallowed goal was the closest the home team has come to scoring, and this game is still in the balance.
The second half has barely begun but Arsenal has already scored.
Declan Rice floats in a teasing freekick and Mikel Merino glances in a header.
Hang on though, VAR are looking at it…
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
Arsenal kicks off the second half and will be hoping for a better performance.
The referee isn’t a popular man inside the stadium but the host needs to ignore what’s happened before and focus on finding a goal.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
Neither team has had time to take a breath but it’s somehow already halftime.
The break comes at an awful time for Arsenal because it was starting to look threatening.
PSG hold on to its lead, thanks to a strike from Ousmane Dembélé within four minutes of the match.
The players will need this rest, and so will I…
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
What a chance that was for Arsenal.
Gabriel Martinelli gets in behind the PSG defence and sprints clear through on goal. The Brazilian opens up his body and tries to bend his shot into the far post but it’s brilliantly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Score: Arsenal 0-1 PSG
