PSG-Arsenal: “We are here because we deserved it”… Paris “confident” and in an ideal position before its Champions League semi-final return

Paris Saint-Germain leads by one goal before the return match on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes. A minimal advantage but anything but negligible for a club which has never been in such a comfortable position.

“I’m very confident. I always have been, since my first day here”. At the heart of his second Champions League semi-final in two seasons spent on the PSG bench, Luis Enrique displayed his calm at a press conference on Tuesday May 6, on the eve of the return match against Arsenal. But don’t be fooled. Behind these words, the Spanish coach has taken great care since the evening of the first leg, won 1-0, to remind us that nothing has been done.

“Tomorrow the match will be difficult (…). There will inevitably be phases where we will suffer against an opponent who has nothing to lose and only one goal to come back from.”he notably supported. Sitting on the same seat as him a few moments earlier, Achraf Hakimi adopted the same posture. “We are all aware of the importance of the match we will play tomorrow”reassured the vice-captain, emphasizing the importance of keeping the same playing identity and the same “personality with and without a ball”.

Since his arrival in the capital, Luis Enrique has worked hard, in his media interventions, to bring back normality to this club accustomed to falling into irrationality. But being 90 minutes away from a C1 final, which would be the second in PSG’s history, five years after the failure against Bayern Munich (0-1), is something special. This time, no Covid-19 epidemic on the horizon, and therefore no closed doors or tournament played in an unusual format.

Paris crossed paths with Manchester City, Arsenal, Atlético de Madrid and even Liverpool – eliminated when the Reds appeared as the favorites of the competition – and is still in the race, not without some scares in the league phase. “We are here because we deserved it”insisted Luis Enrique, who will celebrate his 55th birthday on the evening of the match, at midnight, with the hope of receiving a less bitter gift than the elimination suffered against Dortmund last year at the same stage of the competition.

“Football is above all a spectacle. People pay like going to the theater or the cinema. Receiving praise from our supporters is our goal. But if it comes from other people in the world of football, we are delighted. It’s wonderful.”

Luis Enrique, PSG coach

at a press conference

But the situation has changed in the capital. In the position of the hunter during its first three C1 semi-finals played in the two-way format, PSG had each time experienced elimination (0-1 then 0-2 against Milan in 1995, 1-2 then 0-2 against Manchester City in 2021, 0-1 then 0-1 against Dortmund in 2024). This time, he has a head start and the advantage of receiving for the return match, a new position for him but which 13 teams have already experienced before. In total, 85% of them validated their ticket for the final (11/13), the two exceptions being Panathinaikos (overthrown by Ajax in 1996: 1-0 then 0-3) and Ajax (overthrown by Tottenham in 2019: 1-0 then 2-3).

Not enough to dampen Mikel Arteta’s hopes. “We will do it”assured the Arsenal coach, despite his team’s inability to score a single goal in 90 minutes on their own lawn in the first leg. Will they succeed in a packed Parc des Princes and determined to play the role of the twelfth man? Luis Enrique, who has not forgotten the support received in January when his team was down by two goals against Manchester City (4-2 victory in the end), hopes “restore their trust” to the supporters “through effort and emotional intelligence”. In other words: PSG must continue its momentum to avoid awakening the demons of the past.