The one small Arsenal change that could have a major impact on their chances of PSG comeback | OneFootball

One player may hold key to hopes of overturning first-leg deficit in Paris and reaching the Champions League final

Arsenal lost 1-0 against PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday

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After 15 minutes, Mikel Arteta had seen enough.

Arteta's Arsenal side were being played off the Emirates pitch by Paris Saint-Germain, who already led the Champions League semi-final first leg through Ousmane Dembele's clinical finish in the fourth minute and were threatening to overwhelm the hosts.

"We had especially one issue that we corrected after 15, 20 minutes," Arteta said afterwards. "We sustained that for the rest of the game, which I think turned the game around."

Arteta declined to reveal what he had changed - as he said, it is "only half-time" in the tie – but acknowledged that it was "an issue we had with the ball", which was "especially important" to the way Arsenal play.

Ousmane Dembele fired PSG into an early lead at Emirates Stadium

REUTERS

We can but speculate, though it was easy to wonder how much of the issue related to Arsenal's captain Martin Odegaard, who was anonymous in the first 25 minutes in another subdued display.

At his best, Odegaard should set the tempo for Arsenal with and without the ball, making Arteta's side tick in possession and leading the press and counter-press with his boundless energy.

The playmaker was, though, well-shackled by a beautifully-balanced PSG side and appeared jaded, leaving Arsenal relying on set-pieces or inspiration from other players to hurt Luis Enrique's side after the hosts rallied mid-way through the first half.

Odegaard barely registered in possession and it was telling that he was eventually hooked for the one of Arsenal's few credible substitutes, Ethan Nwaneri, albeit in the 91st minute.

PSG looked vulnerable when Arsenal broke their lines but their two big chances from open play, both of which drew fabulous saves from the outstanding Gianluigi Donnarumma, came from driving runs and defence-splitting passes from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Declan Rice, rather than Odegaard.

Lewis-Skelly's ball late in the first half set Gabriel Martinelli away down the left but his effort drew a smart stop from Donnarumma, before the Italian made an even better save to deny Leandro Trossard following Rice's surge.

Odegaard endured a frustrating night PSG seized the initiative in their semi-final

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Odegaard, by contrast, was neutered, and looked like a player who is feeling the impact of a long and injury-disrupted season.

Having started him in an unfocussed 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the weekend, there is a case for Arteta to rest Odegaard entirely at home to Bournemouth on Saturday to give him a break mentally and physical ahead of the decider in Paris four days later.

The return of Thomas Partey, who was suspended for the first leg, next week will change Arsenal's dynamic, likely giving Arteta's side more security in midfield, which was easily punctured by Dembele dropping deep in the build-up to the winner, and allowing Mikel Merino to reprise his role as auxiliary centre-forward.

Arsenal missed Merino's presence up front in north London, with Trossard a willing runner but less capable of holding up the ball and relieving pressure, particularly during PSG's early onslaught.

A question for Arsenal is whether the return of Partey and the high stakes can help to prompt a bigger performance from Odegaard.

The narrative around Odegaard's form is slightly overblown - he remains a key player for Arteta - but his performance on Tuesday was not entirely out of keeping with a difficult campaign.

The 26-year-old has struggled to build momentum, underlined by reduced metrics across the board, and only showed his best in flashes, possibly owing to the after-effects of an ankle injury which ruled out him for two months in autumn, as well as the disruption to Arsenal's attack caused by other injuries.

For Arteta, Tuesday's first leg was decided on "the margins", underlined by Dembele's precision finish off the inside of the far post, Donnarumma's finger-tip save and a fractional offside against Merino, who thought he had equalised with a header early in the second half.

Odegaard at five or 10 per cent sharper or freer could hurt PSG at the Parc des Princes, and would be a relatively small change which could have a major impact on Arsenal's chances of a special end to the season.