“It's not over yet.”
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is convinced that his side can run their semi-final draw from Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain after a 1-0 defeat in the Emirates Stadium.
The early opener of Ousmane Dembele In the fourth minute, the Ligue 1 champions handed a limited advantage of the second stage in the Parc des Princes tonight, but Saka maintains that faith is still high in the team that they can hold their last hope for silverware in the 2024/25 campaign.
The seasonal luminaire only arrives four days after Arsenal arrived a 2-1 defeat against Bournemouth on Thuisgras in the Premier League.
“I think it is important to stay calm, but of course we know that we have a different level to go and I think we will show it in Paris, and I am convinced that we can turn it around,” Saka told Sky Sports.
“Of course we are a bit frustrated and disappointed in ourselves. But, as I said, the most important thing is to stay calm at the moment. It's not over yet.”
At his own performance in the first stage, which was only his eighth outing since he returned from a dijing injury that sidelined him for a little less than three months, Saka admitted that he found it “difficult” to have his usual influence with the emirates.
The 23-year-old has scored two goals since he returned to the field, including his efforts at the Bernabeu to help Arsenal with a 5-1 victory against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, but only had a yellow card to show for his efforts in the first stage against PSG.
He continued: “It was hard to find spaces. They put many bodies around me. They defended well. I just look at which spaces I can find in the second stage.”
The side of Mikel Arteta will now have to win with a margin of two goals in the Parc des Princes if they want to book their place in Munich for the final of Europe's Elite competition on 31 May without the need for a penalty-shoot-out-but they can trust and believe that they have already defeated the same opponents by such a scorin.
Arsenal organized the side of Luis Enrique in the competition phase in October, when the first half goals of Kai Havertz and Saka achieved three points in the Gunners' way to finish third in the new format.
PSG struggled before the knockout phases and only achieved 13 points of their eight games, but since then Premier League champions Liverpool and Aston Villa has defeated on their way to the semi-final.
Asked about the improvement of PSG, Saka said: “It's like another team.
“I know they have only changed two players from the line-up they played against us earlier, but how much cohesion they have, how they flow, how they move the ball … They were a lot better. They made a big impression on me, to be honest.
“They have a good manager. They have top quality players. A lot of threat at the top of the field.”
Dembele is one of the most celebrated of the abundance of options that Enrique has to do for the luminaire, and the French giants will be stimulated by the fact that he has returned to the training prior to the second stage after a hamstring problem during the first stage.
He was forced in the 70th minute and then missed the competition match in Strasbourg on Saturday, but has since been depicted in the training.
The 27-year-old has 33 goals and 10 assists about his 45 performances this season.
Saka said: “These guys are top players and I don't have a bad word to say about them. Lots of respect for them, and yes, if they don't play against me, I like to see them play.”