Paris Saint-Germain have long since celebrated their Ligue 1 title and have given themselves some breathing room in the domestic championship, where they have suffered two defeats in a row. None of that will matter if Luis Enrique's team completes the job in the game of all games - the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, tonight at the Parc des Princes (21 p.m.).
The "Saints" won 1:0 in London and have a big advantage - however, the English giant is also hopeful.
Both teams have played in the Champions League final once in their history - Arsenal lost to Barcelona in Paris in 2006 (2:1), while PSG had to give up to Bayern Munich in front of empty stands in the crown final in Lisbon five years ago (1:0).
On the eve of the decisive 90, maybe more minutes, the French champion is closer to the final, not only because of the goal advantage. PSG also experienced playing in the semi-finals last season, everyone saw it in the final performance, but Borussia Dortmund stood in the way. Based on the first match with Arsenal in London, it seems that the Parisians have mastered last year's lesson well.
Nothing, however, can be said until the second leg is over. In the first leg, the advantage was given by a goal by Ousmane Dembele, who was questionable ahead of the second leg. But all doubts were dispelled yesterday by the PSG coach.
"Dembele has been training with the team for the past two days, so he will be ready for the second leg," said Luis Enrique.
The Spaniard expects Arsenal to go all-or-nothing from the start.
- It is certain that there will be moments when we will suffer, because our opponent does not have a positive result. We have to be at the level we were at in the first game in order to achieve victory in the second leg - explained the PSG coach.
Enrique also spoke to Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
- I was lucky enough to meet him when he was a player. He's a strong personality. He was a great midfielder, now he's a great coach. I wish him all the best, but not in this match - said Enrique.
So, PSG has only played in the final once, has never won the Champions League trophy, and the European trophy is one of the reasons why Nasser El-Khelaifi took over the club.
- This is one of the most exciting matches. We are one step away from the final. We are calm, and it is precisely calm that can help us during the match - said the "Saints" footballer Achraf Hakimi.
Arsenal have a chance to repeat history. The Gunners have not been in the final of an elite competition since 2006, when they lost to Barcelona. The Champions League is the only competition left for them to win this season.
"If you want to be in the Champions League final, then you have to do something special. We will have to do something special in Paris to qualify for the final," said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta.
The overture was not what the Gunners had hoped for - a home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday in the Premier League (1:2).
"We needed a positive result to really build on what we wanted for Wednesday, but instead we created a lot of anger, resentment, frustration and a bad feeling in the stomach," Arteta continued.
However...
- We have to make sure we use those feelings to put on a great performance in Paris, win the game and advance to the final.
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