Arsenal will travel to the Parc des Princes next week to play Paris Saint-Germain, confronted with a 1-0 deficit of the first stage after a frustrating evening in North London
Arsenal supporters beat Thomas Peny after the midfielder had missed the first stage of their Champions League-Half Final against Paris Saint-Germain. Pedey looked at the 1-0 defeat of the stands in the Emirates Stadium after picking up an unnecessary suspension in the previous game.
Mikel Arteta was forced to rearrange his side for the home leg, where Pedey joined injured players Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines. Arteta Field Leandro Trossard in front, with stand-in striker Mikel Merino who dropped back to midfield next to Declan Rice.
Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game and found the bottom corner of a cut-back in the opening phase after finding space in the box. Both parties went close, with Gianluigi Donnarumma that made crucial rescues from Gabriel Martinelli and Trossard, while Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos missed late opportunities to double the lead of PSG.
Arsenal fought back after the fast start of PSG and had an Merino header excluded for offside. They were not far away, but the result showed many Gunners supporters the guilt danger to Pedey, which was suspended because of a yellow card for deviating opinions in the 85th minute of the 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
“Die Thomas Peny Yellow Card in Madrid looks more stiff with every passing minute,” wrote one fan on X. Another added: “I was actually furious with Thomas Partey. His stupidity brought him and created an XI with a gaping hole in midfield and an expectation to play two Rollen.”
Others took an optimistic view and focus on what Pedey will add to the team as soon as it is back for the second stage. “I think everyone has seen how important Thomas Partey is. There is no arteta ball without Thomas Partey,” wrote a fan.
“I can't wait to get Parey back in midfield and declan to run to that PSG team next week. Thomas missed, so, so very last night,” added another.
Rice demonstrably wore the biggest threat from Arsenal, with his Burst of midfield that set Trossard's one-on-one chance. But without Peidey to sit in midfield, his impact was limited in open play.
Asked if his side Pedey missed on a home floor, Arteta told Prime Video Sport: “I don't know, I think Declan and Mikel were huge. [Partey] Gives options and another threat. It gives us flexibility to change the game. It is the peace and we have a big chance to be in the final. “
Asked if the second stage would be 50/50 in his press conference, Arteta said: “I don't know the percentage, but we have many opportunities to be in that final. While I repeat myself, you have to do something special in the competition to have the right to be in the final. And the time to do it is in Paris.”