Paris is a beautiful city but Arsenal don’t have particularly fond memories of their trips across the Channel having lost there in both the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona and the 1995 Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup decider with Real Zaragoza.
Another painful time is on the cards as one of the Gunners’ great strengths during their lightning start to the season is turning into an Achilles heel which could cost them dearly.
Arsenal enter their must-win Champions League semi-final second leg at the Parc des Princes trialing 1-0 to an Ousmane Dembele goal at the Emirates Stadium last Tuesday which means it’s imperative to keep a clean sheet against a Paris Saint-Germain side which has failed to score just fourtimes in 38 matches spanning all competitions this term.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team allowed just one goal in their first five games in the current campaign but have alarmingly kept opponents at bay on only three occasions in their last 13 matches.
It means if PSG score then the Londoners must hit three to win if they don’t want to face the perils of a penalty shoot-out and they have only achieved that three times in their last 17 games. It’s not looking good.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
The ray of hope for fans crossing the Channel is the Gunners produced an outstanding performance to beat Real Madrid and silence the Bernabeu with a 2-1 victory the last time they played away in Europe.
Both sides lost by that score at the weekend with Arsenal falling at home to Bournemouth while Paris were beaten at Strasbourg but while Luis Enrique rested the vast majority of his star men Arteta fielded a strong side.
It was the tenth time this term the Gunners have dropped points after going ahead which shows they may fail to take advantage even if they get the critical first goal, especially as the hosts have scored 14 times in their last three Champions League wins on home soil.
The blip in that run was Liverpool’s 1-0 victory in the French capital when goalkeeper Allison made a string of astonishing saves and the more the north London side press forward seeking goals the more likely PSG are to catch the visitors on the break.
PSG are 57/50 with BetGoodwin to win in 90 minutes and 11/4 with bet365 to triumph with both teams scoring. A 2-1 home win is 8/1 with bet365, Desire Doue is 16/5 to find the net for the Ligue 1 champions and Declan Rice is 7/1 to reply as the Gunners bid adieu once again to winning their first Champions League crown.
• Jannik Sinner returns from his absence from the tennis courts following a breach of the ATP’s drugs policy this week and is 5/2 with Betfred to warm up for the French Open by winning in Rome. Jack Draper, Britain’s new world No.5, reached the final in Madrid on Sunday only to lose the deciding set to Casper Ruud but he will be full of confidence and swagger and he’s in the opposite half of the draw to Sinner. That makes the Londoner worth an each-way flutter at 20/1 with the same firm.
• Aryna Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff to win the women’s title at the Madrid Open and can take that strong form to Rome where she is 11/4 with Betfred to win the title.