Arsenal were professionally victorious over Paris-Saint German 2-0 in matchweek two of the 24/25 UEFA Champions League.
The 0-0 away draw to Atalanta in Bergamo the previous week, despite not being a particularly bad result, left some pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side heading into the game against the French champions. As failure to claim three points could leave Arsenal being left behind in the fight for a top eight position and qualification for the round of 16 stage.
The Arsenal boss opted to start the same XI that beat Leicester City 4-2 on Saturday, however the bit news for the Gunners was to be found on the substitutes bench, as summer signing Mikel Merino was named in a matchday squad since arriving in North London. The Spanish midfielder deemed fit ahead of schedule following a shoulder injury picked up during his first training session at London Colney. The visitors meanwhile were without key forward Ousmanne Dembele, the former Dortmund and Barcelona winger exiled from the matchday squad by Luis Enrique following an argument between the pair.
The contest started in low-key fashion, with neither side strongly testing their opposition goalkeeper. Bukayo Saka fired a shot over the bar but that was the only proper attempt on goal in the opening fifteen minutes. However, five minutes later Leandro Trossard drove through the midfield and found himself outside the PSG penalty area, the Belgian floated a cross towards the back post and Kai Havertz managed to beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to the ball to head home past the Italian goalkeeper to give Arsenal the lead. The German making it 6 goals in his last 6 appearances at Emirates Stadium in the process.
And it wouldn’t be too long before Arsenal’s lead would be doubled as ten minutes before the interval a free kick from Bukayo Saka was sent low into the PSG box and despite potentially being meant as a cross, the ball was missed by everyone including Donnarumma who was helpless in preventing the ball from finding the back of the net for Saka’s first goal since the opening game win versus Wolverhampton. And Arsenal’s first goal from a direct free-kick since September 2021 when Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the game from a free-kick in a 0-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. And whilst Nuno Mendes struck the post midway through the half, David Raya has little to do at the other end as the referee brought a professional first half from Arsenal to a close.
The second half began in a similar way to how much of the first was played out, with little goal bound action taking place in box boxes. Arsenal, now with a two-goal advantage to protect, seemed happy to sit slightly deeper to allow PSG possession and protect their lead whilst remaining threatening on the break. Gabriel Martinelli saw a good chance saved by Donnarumma after some strong one-touch build-play saw the ball drop to the Brazilian on the volley but his effort was hit straight at the PSG stopper. Arsenal came close soon after as Martinelli crossed for Havertz but his header was comfortably kept out. Raya meanwhile remained fairly unchallenged as the defence in front of him continued to do their job when called upon. Merino was also brought on for his Arsenal debut on the hour mark to huge cheers around Emirates Stadium as the Arsenal crowd got to see their new midfielder for the first time.
The final half hour saw Arsenal do their job well, and kept to the task at hand to keep the scoreline as it was and they did that job successfully. The final whistle was blown with the final score staying 2-0 as Arsenal claimed their first win of this season’s Champions League campaign to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
Their next fixture is their last before the international break as a third home game in a week sees Southampton come to North London.
Played Ratings:
David Raya: 7 – Little to do but another clean sheet
Jurrien Timber: 7 – Strong first half before being forced off at half-time as a precaution
William Saliba: 8 – A rock throughout
Gabriel: 7 – Not quite as good as Saliba but solid
Riccardo Calafiori: 7 – Continues to impress with another fine showing. Played the second half at right-back and still performed well
Thomas Partey: 8 – Arguably the Ghanaian’s best performance of the season, controlled the midfield throughout
Declan Rice: 7 – Drove forward at times well and won back possession multiple times
Leandro Trossard: 7 – Great assist for the opening goal
Kai Havertz: 8 – MOTM with a great goal and strong all-round play throughout
Bukayo Saka: 7 – Always a problem for the PSG defence and got back on the scoresheet
Gabriel Martinelli: 7 – Dangerous going forwards and helped defend well too as he