Match Preview, Predicted Lineup: Arsenal v PSG in Champions League semi-final | OneFootball

Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain tonight in a game that’s threatening to be the most important and biggest in the club’s recent history. The encounter is still on a knife edge despite the French side’s slim advantage. With that said, Arsenal will be looking to overturn the deficit and potentially reach the UCL final for the first time in 19 years. If the Gunners want to do so, they’ll have to improve considerably and drop a performance worthy of a place in the final (just look at Inter Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 last night!).

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Gunners will be heading into the tie having suffered consecutive defeats and a draw in our last three games, which means we’ll be heading into the encounter in poor form. Indeed, Arsenal haven’t won a game since dismantling Ipswich in April. That is a huge concern with our confidence potentially being affected. Paris Saint-Germain will be coming off the back of a loss too but It doesn’t matter as they’re already Ligue 1 champions, hence the reason why they rested a lot of players! The tie will surely be a fascinating watch. PSG will be caught in two minds: defend a very slim lead or stay true to their philosophy and attack. I’ll bet on the latter so it’ll be interesting to see how the game pans out and who will face Inter Milan in Munich in the Champions League final.

Team News

Mikel Arteta provided fitness updates on defensive duo Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori in his pre-match presser. Calafiori has been out since March after sustaining an injury in the international break, but Arteta confirmed his return to the side ahead of the trip to Paris. Speaking to the Media, the Spaniard revealed: : “He’s travelled, and he’s fit and he’s ready to play when we need him. So that’s great news obviously.” That will represent a huge boost to our chances of progressing given the number of roles he can fill in the backline. Regarding Jurrien Timber however, the boss was more tight-lipped. Simply saying: “We will assess him today, whether he can start the game or not.”

Gooners will definitely be counting on his return to the side, he’s arguably our best right-back currently and will fare much better against the tricky PSG attack than a certain Ben White, in my opinion.

Predicted Lineup

If everyone is fit and available – barring the long-term absentees – I fully expect the side that outclassed Real Madrid in both legs to start. With that said, I wonder if Arteta should play Riccardo Calafiori in a central role in place of Jakub Kiwior. With the Italian’s superior technical ability, we will be able to build from the back more efficiently however, there are a few drawbacks which include his early return and tendencies to make rash decisions.

With that in mind, here’s my predicted lineup:

David Raya

Jurrien Timber

Jakub Kiwior

William Saliba

Myles Lewis-Skelly

Declan Rice

Thomas Partey

Martin Ødegaard

Bukayo Saka

Mikel Merino

Gabriel Martinelli.

Score Prediction

Given the season we’ve had domestically, it’s almost surreal thinking that we might potentially be a win away from a Champions League final. The Gunners are potentially a win away from a shot at Immortality and an unprecedented UCL crown, but it’s hard to predict whether they’ll turn up. All eyes will be on this game tonight, but I don’t think it will be a match anywhere near the classic played out between Inter and Barcelona last night. I expect the second leg to be a cagey affair and low scoring. With that said, I’m predicting a keenly contested 1-1 draw to seal our fate and end our season.

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