Thursday, October 3, 2024

Report: Arsenal 2-0 PSG (inc. goals)

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard

Subs: Neto, Porter, Kiwior, Kacurri, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Merino, Nwaneri, Jesus, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Robinson

Arsenal earned their first win of the Champions League season after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at Emirates Stadium, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta named an unchanged side from Sunday’s dramatic late win against Leicester with Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber both passing late fitness tests to feature at full back.

There was further good news with Mikel Merino also making the bench for the first time since his summer move from Real Sociedad after recovering from a fractured shoulder.

It was a strong start from Arsenal who were pressing with intent and their first chance of the game fell to Saka who curled just over after some lovely play between Gabriel Martinelli and Calafiori down the left hand side.

PSG did settle though and were getting Vitinha on the ball who managed to slow things down, although the Gunners worked another nice opportunity when Saka played Havertz through who ran beyond him on the overlap although nobody could meet his low cross in the box.

Arsenal did eventually break the deadlock after 20 minutes and it was created by Leandro Trossard who did well to evade Desire Doue before delivering a beautiful cross for Havertz, who rose bravely ahead of Gianluigi Donnarumma to head into the corner. 1-0.

The two are continuing to develop a nice relationship and their positional fluidity between midfield and attack makes their movement so difficult to track.

It took half an hour for Paris to fashion their first real opportunity when Nuno Mendes brushed the post with a fiercely struck effort, before Hakimi galloped beyond Calafiori on the counter attack and called David Raya into action from a narrow angle.

Arteta’s men doubled their lead shortly after when Saka delivered a teasing cross towards six red shirts darting towards the near post, leaving Donnarumma confused and unsighted as the ball trickled past him into the net. 2-0.

It was another fun set piece routine from Arsenal who looked dangerous from those situations throughout the first half and despite the poor defending from Paris, should be praised for the creativity and variety they seem to offer almost game-by-game.

Trossard was close to making it 3-0 (and probably should have) before half time after good work from Saka by the touchline, but couldn’t connect properly with the captain’s low cross from six yards out.

You could see the potential and technical quality of Paris during that first half, but concerns about the physical mismatch ahead of kick-off rang true – Arsenal were dominant and suffocated their opponents in defensive areas with their inch perfect press.

Arteta did make a half time change with Jakub Kiwior replacing Jurrien Timber – which saw Calafiori move over to right back – in what was hopefully a precautionary withdrawal for the defender.

With Paris suffering under the press again, Arsenal almost worked what would have been one of the goals of the season after gorgeous one touch football between Saka, Trossard and Havertz set up Martinelli, although his left-footed volley was straight down the throat of Donnarumma.

With an hour on the clock, Merino would come on for his Gunners debut, replacing Thomas Partey who was also likely substituted with his injury history and recent heavy schedule in mind.

There were two quick-fire chances for the visitors who enjoyed a better spell of possession after introducing Fabian Ruiz and Randal Kolo Muani, with Joao Neves flicking onto the crossbar from a corner before Lee Kang-in made Raya uncomfortable with a swerving effort from distance.

Donnarumma then reacted sharply to keep out another effort before Paris were adamant they should have had a penalty after the ball struck Calafiori’s arm in the box, although to their frustration, it was checked and cleared by VAR with little fuss.

After an intense first half, you could see Arsenal tired in the second and the visitors did create some opportunities which they didn’t maximise but it was otherwise an impressive performance from Arteta’s men who keep ticking along to the next international break.

Now get everybody in the ice baths for Southampton. Please and thank you.

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Johnny 4 Hats

I’m sorry but Kai Havertz has made the “we need a number 9 killer” discussion obsolete. The man is a killer. He scores the sort of goals that Giroud scored for us. But he also does the things that Bergkamp did. With the work rate and harrying of Sanchez. 

He’s absolutely world class and I can’t think of a team on the planet that he doesn’t walk into. What a signing. What a fucking signing. I’m so happy for him. And I’m so happy that Chelsea fans have to watch this happen. 

COYG!!!!

loose_cannon

If Isak, Toney, Osimhen etc came to Arsenal last January and did what Havertz has done since then, no one on the planet would say we needed a new striker.

Johnny 4 Hats

Preach! So true. I’m looking back at the Vlahovic saga now and thinking thank god he mugged us off. Life’s funny like that, hey?

God, I think Kai is becoming my “poster on the bedroom wall” guy. The love just gets stronger and stronger.

Bleeding Gums Murphy

Wonderful player and so important to the team structure. Partey is coming in for a lot of stick but I also think he is very important to how we play. Hes getting fitter with every game and deserves such credit for his reading of the game and passes through the lines that put is on the front foot. I thought we looked more exposed after he went off. He’s a terrific player.

Brazilian Gooner

That “almost” assist for Martinelli… What a pass

wrightstuff8

What a goal that would have been! Gabi hit it sweet as well. Ah well. Dead proud of them all. What a result!!!

Henkamp

Speaking of money well spent…

Jurrien Timber! To think he is still NOT up to his best having just returned from an ACL, it really boggles the mind. Many of us definitely didn’t know what we were getting until he started to play for us. What a proper player!

Having said that, here is hoping he is okay!

Johnny 4 Hats

One of the cool things about that performance is that I swear we were PSG in that game throughout most of the Wenger years.

We’d be the ones that had possession and chances but we’d come away scratching our heads after losing 2-0 to a couple of opportunistic goals.

Arteta is a canny little fucker. He’s outsmarting the best in the business week in, week out. I think he’s the best in the world. And there’s so much more to come.

Ebo

Yes… except for the Bergkamp bit. Thy shall not utter his name in vain etc, leave that bit out and we’re good. Kai is absolute top shelf.

Johnny 4 Hats

Dennis so loved the world that he gave his only Kai, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ebo

I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most Kai.
Psalm 9:2

Johnny 4 Hats

I expected a reading from the Kairan…

TeeCee

It’s all down to Kaientology.

Jaardvark

Shouldn’t that be Psalm 2:0 ?

Ebo

or PSGalm 0:2

Declan Fried Rice with Egg

It’s obviously Arteta 6:9

Nacho de Montreal is tasty

By the end of the season, you will say that Kai can eat at the same table as Messi and Ronaldo.

I really wish that.

It Is What It Is

Said to my neighbour with all appreciation, respect and pride, “Kai is a striker, isn’t he? Not many are scoring from that chance.” It was a genuine revelation for me. Glad to see he got man of the match.

All I wanted to do against Leicester was sing Shakira, but I missed the scenes at the end. Shameful.

And while twiddling thumbs at half time, Kum ba ya, my Lord became Bu Ka Yo, Sa Ka, Bukayo, Oh Lord Bukayo.

Henkamp

Good game. But expected more in the second half after such a good first half. Wonder why we just sat back like that in the second half and invited them on…

Johnny 4 Hats

Haha! You know we’re good when….

Henkamp

Nah, just thought PSG were there for the taking. But then, I always say I know less than Mikel when it comes to the game.

But I felt if any of those attempts of theirs had gone in, then the game swings massively in their favour.

Johnny 4 Hats

Next you’ll be telling us your prawn sandwich had way too much mayonnaise in…

Tricks Popsicle

😂😂😂😂😂

Grommet

I think it has to be energy management with such a full schedule…

89 again

100% it’s a long season and the game was won, save those legs. Sharp contrast to Bayern at home last season when we got too emotional and went for the kill when we should have put our foot on the ball and taken a breath. Proper grown up team now.

Red Cannon

To be fair, this group stage situation is very different from how to approach a 2-game tie in the elimination rounds.

89 again

Yes, arguably having the maturity to manage the game is even more important in a knockout row.

TotsOfJack

Without Timber and Cala out of position we had to be cautious I guess and just manage the game. I wish we hadn’t rode our luck quite as much.

Ebo

we actually didn’t sit back at all for most of the 2nd half, we tried to get out of their press but gave the ball away too many times in the process and gave them a bunch of great chances. It was a great game for the neutral, a bit too random to feel safe on our part. Thankfully we got away with it.

89 again

No shots from PSG above 0.1xg all night, we held them at arms length as I’m certain was the plan at half time.

Ebo

a lot of near misses though, ball hit the cross bar once having beaten Raya, another couple whistled past the post, a bunch of panicky situations where the ball was pinballing in our penalty area, and a bunch of last ditch tackles and blocks from our defenders. I’m generally a fan of xG but it doesn’t always tell the whole story.

89 again

Well in this case with a ball that bounced onto the bar and a few shots that didn’t hit the target I would say xg tells the story pretty well. Felt like we always had another gear to go into if we needed it and we had much clearer chances.

Ebo

We were better, don’t get me wrong, but not by a lot as some here are making it out to be. We dominated the 1st half, they mostly dominated the 2nd. It was a deserved victory, but easily could’ve been a draw if we were slightly unlucky, and not even necessarily as unlucky as we were against Leicester last weekend (where we should have won 6-1 based on domination and chances created)

Dinosauras

“We were better”

What would that game have looked like with Ode pulling our strings do you reckon?!!

What a group Sir Arteta has cooked up for us.

Bob

Raya had the one from the corner that bounced and hit the bar covered. We were a bit lucky with the Mendes strike off the post at the end of the first half though.

Well done to the team.

I was very pleased with Partey. I think he is well suited to such CL games. I was wrong to think Nwaneri should have started in his place given PSG’s threat.

ArsenesLongSuffering Zipper

Kinda weird that hitting the post doesn’t qualify as a “shot on target,” while one that rolls towards the keeper with the pace of a caterpillar would.

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

I agree. We wanted to sit back in the last PL game and found ourselves at 2 – 2.

Santi’s Phonebox

Because we wanted to win the game I guess.

Grommet

We do NOT get pushed around anymore.

What we learned today:

1) Martinelli’s confidence is coming back

2) Calafiori is fantastic BUT players can run past him.

3) Partey has received a lot of criticism this season so far but I feel he has improved and we clearly lost a bit stability when he came off.

Did Rice hand Calafiori a vape after he got his yellow card??

Bob

I only saw Hakimi run past Calafiori, once, and Hakimi is quick. Also Calafiori did not seem to be out of second gear and actually got in the way sufficiently to put him off shooting cleanly, and Raya saved the shot well. It’s all good

Flash

Well said.
Hakimi is the 7th fastest player in Bundesliga history…

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/davies-haaland-adeyemi-fastest-players-of-all-time-10553

Alex

Yes it was a vape lol.

It was a gel pack for energy. Sugar basically.

Santi’s Phonebox

Looked like an asthma vaporizer.

Vivek

Great game .. felt Partey was awesome today

Chippy

We’re able to roll with the big boys now alright…

Cala Fury

We ARE the big boys

Fatgooner

A very professional job.

Amusa

Watched us dismantled by PSG not too long ago. And now schooled them without much fuss what a time to be a Gooner. This team deserves a title!

Ibson

We never lost to them, 2 wins and 3 draws

Ebo

Dominated them in the 1st half, 2nd half much nervier than it should’ve been, we really weren’t that convincing especially in our ability to get out from their press, and gave the ball away to give them more than enough clear chances to equalise, so had some luck today. Really missed Timber after the break imo, and if it turns out he’s injured I’m going to be very upset at Mikel for playing him so much when he’s still so relatively fresh back from a really bad long term injury. This might seem like a negative Fats type comment after… Read more »

btw

What a long way we’ve come. Two years ago I would not have believed we could boss PSG in that manner. Chapeau Mikkel.

Mootilated

The fact that we have played Spurs, City, Villa, PSG and Atalanta and it’s only 6-7 weeks into the season is mad.

And we’ve conceded like 4 goals. What???

Superb.

Third Gooner

Actually we only conceded 2 goals from those matches you mentioned. Against the fraud masters.

Mootilated

Yeah but I meant in general. Still impressive though!!

Matt

Am I right that with 11 players on the pitch, we’ve conceded 1 goal all season? To City. And none of their goals count as far as I’m concerned.

bigB

uh, no. we conceded two on Saturday….

Matt

Ha, oh yeah. Well that was ages ago, I can’t be expected to remember that.

John

PSG are a UCL last 8 team and we dispatched them with very little fuss. Mature performance and great result.

Brazilian Gooner

Such a shame that Martinelli finished that chance right at the middle, with that power anywhere else would be a goal. And with that build up… what a goal that would be

Big Mad Andy

To see such a calm and controlled win against PSG is such a delight!

Third Gooner

Professional, controlled, and mature performance. We swatted PSG with minimal fuss despite their quality. We are truly back in the big stage. Was it just me or did PSG start playing better after Partey was subbed?

BelgianGooner

Think y’all already said everything.
Mature win.

Really think (or at least hope) that we will have everyone back for Liverpool on the 27th !!

BelgianGooner

Would already be happy if Benjamin and Tomi come back for Bournemouth because my man Jurrien needs a break !

Ebo

unfortunately it seems like he will have one but it will be an involuntary break. The time to give him a voluntary one was 1-2 weeks ago, he should be playing once a week, at most 120 minutes in a single week at this stage of his come back. Hopefully I’m wrong and his substitution was just precautionary, but given his history I fear it will be at least 3 weeks out now.

BelgianGooner

I don’t think he’s injured to be honest with you. I think Mikel managed the fitness quite well today. Tomi is close as he trained but the staff decided not to rush him which makes sense. Don’t know for Benjamin but since he didn’t train I don’t think we will see him against So’ton and don’t believe we should rush him either !

Ebo

Really hope you’re right about that. Perhaps Mikel has finally learned the lesson and taken him out for a half today just to give him a rest (it definitely wasn’t because Timber was performing badly). I’m just not sure I’ve seen Arteta do that so it’s hard for me to believe that he would. Fingers crossed.

Al m

Great pressing 1st half got the job done .The 2nd was dogged. We ended with only 38% possession at home!
Marti drives me crazy and think he will be upgraded on in the summer. His goal re Lei he scuffed!
Havertz and Rice arebimmense. Do so much hard work.
Our fb’s were being done for pace but the backing up of them was excellent.
Partey was great but his legs only last an hour sadly . Have to admit I didn’t really notice Merino.

Teryima Adi

He was anonymous, Merino. Should have been Nwaneri.

Naked Cygan

To keep winning these games without our best player and capitan is amazing. Can’t wait till Odegard and White are back.

Zenithreptile

Bukayo Saka is just unreal, so glad he’s captaining this team at the moment.
Ref was so decent. So nice to watch a game of football without having to have a fucking dramatic refereeing circus to contend with.

Mick Malthouse

Was thinking the same thing – so good to have a ref who didn’t want to be the centre of attention.

Johnno

Bought from nowhere. Initially successful. Full of energy and running. Loves the club. But lacks the ability to be a front 3 players for a top side. Gabriel Martinelli is just an exotic Perry Groves “ discuss.

BelgianGooner

Give him some time, it’s October. We will need him at 100% later.

Johnno

He’s had 4 years. This is the top table. It’s not a crèche. One of these days the players that we always hear fans say “we just have to get Behind him and be patient” will cost us a game or two. And where the modern game sits that’s a trophy gone. Ans that’s fine. I don’t expect to win. But I’ve watched Arsenal for 50 years and all I know is when you get players like saka and saliba you’d better not fall short on supporting them. They’ll leave. Kennedy. Brady. Fabregas. RVP. Rinse and repeat. That’s all I’m… Read more »

Diaby’s boot for John Terry’s face

He’s missed 269 days through injury in that time. It’s not a video game, fitness and form isn’t just always there. Played a season with Zinny as “left back” where he had no support and held down the left side offensively and defensively by himself at times. Runs himself into the ground for the team every game. I agree he hasn’t hit the heights he initially showed. But his form and confidence has improved greatly with Califiori and Timber actually supporting him so he’s not going at it alone against 1,2,3 defenders. Having Ode and White supporting Saka on the… Read more »

Johnno

I do hope you’re right. I’d love to see him come good. I think we are a 15 goals a season pacey LW and a more like for like replacement for havertz at 9 away from winning the league by 5 points. He could be the former. I just don’t think he will be. Ans I think the fact that Williams and Isak have both been targeted (if you believe usually reliable sources ) tells you the club aren’t sure either.

Cala Fury

He’s such a nice guy. But what we need in front of goal is ruthlessness

Theo

Saka made it extremely hazardous for them to play from the back. Loved watching him thwart their LB time and time again. The stand-in captain led by example all through.

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