Bukayo Saka has struggled against PSG, while Ousmane Dembele looks ready to propel the French club to their second-ever Champions League final.
With both teams’ star players eager to make an impact, the stakes couldn’t be higher. ..Continue Reading
Managers Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique are equally determined to come out on top—Arteta aiming to reestablish Arsenal as a global force, while Enrique is motivated by the prospect of securing his second treble.
Enrique recognizes that Arsenal have the ability to stage a comeback, while Arteta, having seen his side falter against the Ligue 1 champions in the first leg, will be looking for a response.
Rio Ferdinand has shared his insights ahead of Arsenal’s highly anticipated clash with PSG next week.
He first analyzed how Arsenal’s lack of a traditional striker could be a significant drawback, potentially allowing PSG to commit players forward without much defensive caution at the Parc des Princes.
Given the attacking firepower PSG possesses, Ferdinand believes Arsenal’s absence of a natural goal-scorer could be a major disadvantage.
The pundit went on to back the Parisians to defeat the Gunners on Rio Ferdinand Presents’ YouTube channel: “My biggest concern with Arsenal is that without a centre-forward, this Paris Saint-Germain team can go man-to-man, one-v-one at the back, especially when they’re on the attack and be comfortable, fairly comfortable, which means they have numbers further up the pitch to outnumber this Arsenal team and really suffocate them and keep them back.”
“I’m going to go, [Lautaro] Martinez is out as well, big miss for them so I’m going to Barca against Paris Saint-Germain [in the Champions League final] as well.”
Mikel Merino is convinced that Arsenal will overcome PSG, expressing confidence in the Gunners’ ability to advance immediately after their first-leg clash at the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand was part of Manchester United’s squad the last time Arsenal played a Champions League semi-final second leg back in 2009, which ended in a 3-1 defeat. This time, securing victory at the Parc des Princes remains a formidable task.
However, Mikel Arteta knows that for his team to topple the French powerhouse, they must raise their level and deliver a stronger performance.
Arteta said via HaytersTV: “So, I think that we need to be better and that we need to be better week in, week out.”
“We know that there was not that much in it, we were on the same wavelength this evening and it could have gone another way and we needed to pull things on our side.”
Mikel Arteta added: “We needed to be a bit more accurate and we have wet our appetite and we want to go to Paris and do what we need to do.”
