‘We struggled a lot in the first 20 minutes’ – William Saliba reviews Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to PSG | OneFootball

PSG have defeated Arsenal by the finest of margins in the Champions League semi-finals first leg. France international winger Ousmane Dembélé scored the game’s sole goal early on, diverting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s cross off the post and in in the fourth minute of action at London’s Emirates Stadium. Speaking to Canal+, Arsenal centre-back William Saliba (24) said he was disappointed to have lost the first leg and to have conceded PSG’s opener this early in the game. “We struggled a lot in the first 20 minutes. They ate us a bit. We did a lot of running, chasing the ball. We were better at the end of the first half.”

Saliba pointed that the second half told a different story with Arsenal growing into the game and PSG made to sit back. Although both teams were wasteful in the final third, which means PSG will take a slender lead back to Paris’ Parc des Princes for the second leg next Wednesday. “It’s not over. We hope to win there. We need to take the positive, we can’t give up. It’s the Champions League. A lot can happen. We’ll need to show our character”, concluded the France international centre-back.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval