In his last column, Paul Merson of Sky Sports speaks his judgment about Arsenal's Champions League Semi-Final first leg defeat against Paris Saint-Germain while the Gunners lost 1-0 after an early Ousmane Dembele goal …
I just think the players were nervous. It was a big football match. It is a semi -final of the Champions League. These players have not been in a semi -final before. They are not seasoned professionals in it. It doesn't matter how much money you earn, you get nervous.
I just thought they were nervous. PSG came out, got that early goal and they had them on the rack.
It was as if Arsenal was a bit scared, and I thought they thought: 'If we let in a different goal here, we are already out of the cup. We are literally out of the Cup -Stropdas'.
I know that did not happen in the other semi-final with Inter Milan because they went 2-0 against Barcelona. Barcelona plays a different way to Arsenal.
Arsenal returned steadily in the game, but they will be disappointed. There are certain games that you get in your life, and you think: “I could probably have done more in that game.” And I think there are many players who would have been in the dressing room after that game or went home and went to bed and went to bed and thought: “I didn't really show up.”
It happens. You just hope it doesn't happen on the big stage in the big competitions, and it did on Tuesday evening.
'Odegaard must appear in the second stage'
They missed Thomas Pareny incredibly. It stopped with Declan Rice bombing forward.
Declan is currently playing both and everyone. He bombs ahead, makes runs, gets into the box. One of their only chances they had – the Leandro -Trossard -opportunity – who was from Declan Rice, who made a barrier. We didn't get that much from them because of the position he had to play.
Martin Odegaard will have to appear. I am a big fan of Odegaard, but he didn't play recently.
But they still have a chance. They should have been completely blown out of this competition recently. They had opportunities PSG.
I think it's the first goal. I think that if Arsenal scores the first goal, that the performance of Tuesday and his match wages away. But I think that if Paris Saint-Germain scores first, I can't see any way again.
I know people will say: “Well, Villa went down 4-1,” but Villa was at home. They had nothing to lose. They had a good attempt, scored two goals in three minutes and they returned to the game.
People will say: “Oh, Arsenal has won in the Bernabeu,” but Arsenal won at the last kick of the game with Gabriel Martinelli who ran away from the defender by a minute to go. If it is 1-1 in the Parc des Princes, PSG will not play Gung-Ho Football.
I think Arsenal is entitled to it, but you never know with Peidey Back.
'Fans were as nervous as players'
You get there and they sing 'North London forever', the atmosphere is great, and then suddenly Paris Saint-Germain score after four minutes.
Of course it will leave you away. It emptied the players. It did the fans. The fans would have been nervous. They show up, it is the semi -final and you have an incredible opportunity to win the Champions League, which they have never done before.
I just think everyone made up for it, and I think that goal was crucial in the first four minutes. I think the fans got just as nervous as what the players did, it was as simple as that.
It was just one of them situations in which that goal literally killed the match for me during the first 20 minutes. And Arsenal became nervous, PSG started playing around them. PSG looked like the Harlem Globetrotters, and that is the way it turned out a bit.
Arsenal had a few chances. I thought they were doing well to get back into the game and didn't need a half -time. But they lose 1-0, and it could probably have been 3-0.
They are back in it again, they have a chance, but I don't give them too much chance, if I'm honest.
Can Arsenal overthrow the shortage of the first leg to reach the CL Final?
Of course they have a chance. They are a good team, Arsenal, they don't get a bad team at night.
I saw PSG Liverpool destroying, but they still lost the game. For how well they played, Liverpool won that football match.
Because they only lost 1-0, they don't have to score that goal in the first 10 minutes. I think that as long as they can endure for the first 20 minutes and keep it still in the Parc des Princes, because it will be an incredible atmosphere.
They don't have to score right away, so they must be patient, play themselves in the game, make sure they stay in this game as long as they can. And then the last 20 to 25 minutes, go well and let a gung-ho go to them, open the game and see what happens.
Because you are not worried, PSG, the longer this game lasts 1-0, will be very nervous. They have an incredible opportunity to win the Champions League, where we with the players they had and the talent, we never really thought they could win, and now they will become nervous.
So I think Arsenal should stay in the game. I think the first 20 minutes is very important. I think if Arsenal can arrive at 0-0 first half, you never know.