“Impossible” to dominate PSG for a whole match, says Arteta after Dembélé goal leaves Arsenal with tough task in Paris | OneFootball

“We’re at half-time,” insisted Mikel Arteta on Tuesday night, as the dust settled on Arsenal’s 0-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final, “and my message is exactly the same following us beating Real Madrid at home 3-0. We have to go to Paris and win the game.”

Ousmane Dembélé’s early opener at the Emirates Stadium handed Luis Enrique’s PSG a crucial lead, and one that they’ll look to defend valiantly at the Parc des Princes next Wednesday – but Arteta declared that Arsenal “are more than capable” of bouncing back.

“I saw two good teams with margins that are so small. They had efficiency in front of goal, and their keeper as well made a difference to see the result that we’ve seen tonight,” the 43-year-old explained in his post-match press conference.

But it won’t be simple. Arteta conceded that “you cannot” control every minute against a side of PSG’s quality – a team that he labelled as “one of the best, beating all the English teams, the best teams in this country.”

“You cannot dominate this team in 95 minutes. Impossible, forget about it. You have to understand what it means [to be] dominating them and in which area of the pitch. We have to be very clear.”

Arsenal head to the Parc des Princes next Wednesday for a 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] kick-off against Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners may look to take inspiration from Renée Slegers’ Arsenal Women, who produced a stunning comeback of their own on French soil when needing to overturn a one-goal deficit in a European semifinal just last weekend.