For the past two years, the defining characteristic of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal has been clear to anyone observing them: their absolute dominance in key duels. That famous dressing-room talk Arteta gave his team in the winter of 2022 seems to have deeply embedded itself in Arsenal’s psyche. When players lose a one-on-one battle, Arteta is visibly displeased, and woe betide those who incur their manager’s wrath.
In almost every match since the additions of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Jurrien Timber—three players excellent in individual contests—Arsenal has executed its out-of-possession strategy flawlessly. In central areas, they are often too large, strong, and quick for their opponents. The moment the ball moves wide, their fullbacks apply intense pressure. This approach has been proven effective at the highest level; after all, Arsenal recently managed to contain players like Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
Yet, for roughly the first 15 minutes of this specific encounter, one of the Champions League’s most effective defensive units seemed to lose its way. There’s a reason Arsenal players joke about the “Timber Penitentiary.” When their right-back is fully focused, escape is impossible for even Europe’s best left-wingers, who might find breaking out of Alcatraz easier.
Perhaps Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is simply on another level. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that. In those initial moments, the brilliant Georgian was unstoppable. Timber couldn’t contain him before he laid the ball off to Ousmane Dembele for the opening goal. The young Dutch defender was fortunate that referee Slavko Vincic did not award a penalty despite Timber having his arms all over PSG’s No. 7.
It would have been one thing if only Kvaratskhelia was causing problems for his direct opponent, but Arsenal was being overwhelmed across the pitch. Dembele’s movement constantly troubled the backline. Vitinha had previously bristled at the notion that PSG lacked the physical presence to match Arsenal’s midfield; here, their trio proved formidable with precise and powerful challenges.
Every attempt by Arsenal to build from the back under PSG’s pressure resulted in multiple backward passes before a difficult, last-ditch escape. Arsenal’s own pressing was slightly too slow, allowing Nuno Mendes to thread a pass through midfield to Dembele, which set up the move for the game’s decisive goal.
In the first 23 minutes, the home side won only 26 percent of their duels. Arteta wasn’t merely upset; he, his team, and a crowd that had generated an incredible atmosphere were all visibly shellshocked. It highlighted why Arteta had half-jokingly urged the Emirates Stadium faithful to bring their shirts, shorts, and boots – perhaps 57,000 extra options on the flanks could have helped bypass the PSG press.
However, this early pattern did not persist. Luis Enrique’s side couldn`t maintain that level of intensity, and crucially, Arsenal stopped making it easy for them. They began playing longer balls, fighting for second balls, and building attacks from inside PSG`s half. Arteta later admitted there was “one issue that we corrected after 15, 20 minutes.” He claimed fixing it completely turned the game around but declined to specify what the tactical adjustment was.
“’Not a lot [was going wrong],’ Arteta insisted. ‘I’m telling you it was very specific but very important, especially the way we play. We corrected it. It is not easy to correct it constantly, but we did it and we were much better.’”
Whatever the change, it was effective. For much of the following hour, the match was finely balanced. A header resulting from a Declan Rice free kick might have been offside (as were two promising Gabriel Martinelli chances that didn`t find the net), and Leandro Trossard went close to beating Gianluigi Donnarumma. With a little more luck, Arsenal might have found an equalizer, though they were also fortunate that Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos’s reluctance to shoot with their weaker feet from prime positions prevented PSG from doubling their lead.
Looking ahead to the second leg, it`s reasonable to expect Timber to fare much better than he did in the initial exchanges. In his first eight duels, he lost seven, but then won all of his subsequent five. William Saliba also grew in confidence and authority, making a crucial tackle to halt a rare PSG breakthrough around the hour mark. Adding Thomas Partey to the team could make navigating PSG’s press less hazardous and potentially allow for players like Merino to push higher for a direct, long-ball approach – a style, though not aesthetically pleasing, that can be effective.
In the 67 minutes following that difficult opening spell, Arsenal won 55 percent of their overall duels and an impressive 72 percent of aerial duels. While it might not always be the most attractive football, this statistical improvement reflects peak Arsenal performance in terms of battling and competing.
When Arsenal operates at that level, they are a formidable match for PSG. These two teams seem poised to deliver a semifinal tie that is consistently absorbing and evenly balanced. The crucial factor, however, is that these high-stakes matches are often decided by brief, critical periods. A place in the final can be snatched away from the team that suffers even one poor run of moments. In that opening quarter where Arsenal’s defining strength was conspicuously absent, it feels like they might have already had that costly moment.
