Legendary Premier League forward Alan Shearer has shared his thoughts on Arsenal's 1-0 loss to PSG in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
WHAT TRANSPIRED?
Iconic Premier League striker Shearer didn’t hold back in his assessment of Arsenal’s performance, criticising the team for their lethargic start in their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
The Newcastle legend remarked that the Gunners looked completely lost in the opening stages, saying they "didn't know what day it was."
Despite the setback, Shearer believes
all is not lost for Mikel Arteta’s side and outlined the key adjustments
Arsenal must make to keep their Champions League hopes alive in the return leg.
THE SUPERIOR PICTURE
Although Arsenal gained momentum as the game progressed, it was PSG who took the game by the scruff of its neck. Indeed, a brilliant team move saw a red-hot Ousmane Dembele find the back of the net in just the fourth minute, leaving Arsenal shell-shocked.
In the lead-up to the first leg, Arteta's troops were full of belief, and why not? After all, they were heading into the semi-finals on the back of a 5-1 demolition of reigning champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.
However,
Luis Enrique's side brought them down to earth as the Gunners failed to impose
their gameplan and struggled to keep up with Les Parisiens' spirited teamplay.
DID YOU KNOW?
Speaking to Betfair, Shearer opined on Arsenal's dreadful first half performance: "It was an amazing atmosphere at the Emirates before Arsenal's Champions League semi-final first leg against PSG but that changed after three minutes with PSG's goal.
When
you go to a hostile ground, where you know the atmosphere is going to be
amazing for the home team, you want to keep the ball and, if possible, get an
early goal just to kill the crowd. PSG did that.
"Arsenal never
recovered. For the first 20 or 30 minutes, they didn't know what day it
was. Then they recovered and were the better team for ten or 15 minutes before
half-time - and they didn't need half-time.
"There were two really, really good chances for Arsenal. One in the first-half with Gabriel Martinelli one-on-one and then a one-on-one in the second half involving Leandro Trossard.
Other than that, I know they had the disallowed offside goal which took far too long considering he was half a yard offside.
The positive
was that it only ended 1-0. It could've been a lot worse.
"At 1-0 going
into the second leg, Arsenal still have a chance. What was already a difficult
opportunity against a very good side has become a little bit more difficult,
but it's not impossible.
HOW ARSENAL CAN BEAT
PSG ACCORDING TO SHEARER
Shearer, though, believes that Arsenal are still very much alive in the tie. The Englishman explained what the London outfit needs to do better in the return leg next week: "Arsenal missed Thomas Partey in the first leg against PSG.
I'm not sure that Dembele has that amount of space in the first three minutes if Partey is playing. He'll be playing next week which means we'll hopefully see a better Declan Rice because it's not his best role, sitting and trying to sweep up play as a number six.
"Rice is better
when he's driving forward and there was one time last night where he was able
to drive forward and that was what created the opportunity for [Leandro]
Trossard.
"Arsenal's pressing has to be better. For the first half-an-hour in the first leg, they didn't know when to press or sit and it looked really confusing in terms of when and how to go.
They didn't get that right and ended up getting picked off.
That can improve massively, but they don't have to go for it straight away. If
it's still 1-0 at half-time in Paris then that's fine.
"Arsenal just
have to be a little bit more patient, go with what happens, keep it tight and
don't concede because if they concede the first goal early on then it'll be
pretty much curtains for them."
WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Before they visit Parc
des Princes next Wednesday, Arsenal will take on Bournemouth in a Premier
League encounter on Saturday, May 3.
CONCLUSION
Best of possible lucked
and a Good Game for Arsenal.
