Arsenal enters the lion's nest and the prince knows exactly what the dangers are. A goal lowered from the first leg and is now 90 minutes (or more) away from the potential return to the Champions League final - they have not visited this place since 2006. But this is not a task they will give easily. It's Paris Saint-Germain, it's the Champions League, the edge is cruelly thin and the narrative is unpopular.

The wholehearted decision-maker of Paris semi-finals

This is PSG vs. Arsenal, which will be a fine European match under the Paris floodlight on Wednesday night. The Ligue 1 Giants have a slim advantage thanks to their first-leg win on Emirates, but recent tables show that the game is far from over. Both sides entered the game after suffering domestic defeats – Arsenal’s humble home in Bournemouth, PSG was eliminated by Strasbourg after resting most of the first-team regulars.

That failure wouldn't bother Luis Enrique. There was the luxury of rotation around him, one eye firmly against the second leg. Arsenal, on the other hand, isn't that free. Mikel Arteta had to juggle priorities, and the result means that the Gunners are now in a fight just to win Champions League football next season, regardless of the end of this European adventure.

Arsenal's damage involves cloud

The Gunner’s challenge is not only tactical or mental, but physical. Jurrien Timber has little chance to play the game this season, and he stood out in the first leg, not against Bournemouth. Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhães, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz were all eliminated, and the recovery of Havertz was not expected.

However, there is some positive news. Thomas Partey returns from the suspension and Captain Martin Ødegaard calms any damage issues around him. Still, this is not what the full-out Side Arteta envisioned on such a crucial night.

PSG looks like it's going to complete an English hat trick

PSG has already eliminated Manchester United and Manchester City on its way to the semi-finals and is now hoping to keep it three consecutive Premier League games. That would not only send a strong message to the rest of Europe, but also reinforce their ambition to eventually cancel their ambition to continue to escape one of their trophys - the Champions League.

“It’s incredible,” many said after a disciplined show in London. Despite the doubt consistency, the Parisians are still valid when they calculate. Ousmane Dembélé reportedly was forced to hamstring pressure due to the first round and he retrained but may be able to compete in the second round. L'Equipe reported that after working on a single gym over the weekend, the winger returned to the group meeting on Monday.

Tapping time, TV channels and live streams

Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Tapping: 8:00 pm BST
Coming: Prince of Paris, Paris
TV Channel: TNT Sports 1 (UK) - Coverage starts at 7:00 PM BST
Live Streaming: Discovery+ App and Website (for TNT Sports Subscribers)

The last sentence

Both teams have vulnerabilities – PSG’s domestic inconsistency and Arsenal’s injury list – but that’s exactly where legends and history are made. For Arsenal, it's about rewriting the past's nearly erroneous pain. For PSG, this is another opportunity to go from a promising person on the mainland to a real European heavyweight. In either aspect, theatre that only the Champions League can deliver, the tension and that kind of high-risk theater, is safe.