Ousmane Dembélé’s early goal earned Paris Saint-Germain a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg, ending the Gunners’ impressive 17-match unbeaten home run in European competition.
In a clash between two clubs still chasing their first UCL title, it was PSG who struck first. Just four minutes in, Dembélé finished off a slick move involving Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, rifling a precise left-footed shot in off the post. The goal—his 25th of the calendar year and 11th contribution in this season’s tournament—set a new club record for the French side.
PSG, appearing in their fourth semi-final in six seasons, dominated the early exchanges. Arsenal struggled to match their tempo, with goalkeeper David Raya twice called upon to deny Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué. The hosts showed signs of life late in the first half, and Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into a sharp save to deny Gabriel Martinelli just before the break.
Arsenal thought they had equalized shortly after the restart when Mikel Merino headed in Declan Rice’s free-kick, but the effort was chalked off for offside. That near-miss seemed to spark the home side, and Donnarumma had to be at his best again to stop a fierce strike from Leandro Trossard.
PSG suffered a blow when Dembélé limped off with an apparent injury, replaced by Bradley Barcola.
The substitute nearly made an instant impact, setting up João Neves, who missed the target with a wild effort. Neves came closer minutes later, narrowly missing the far post after a sweeping PSG move. Gonçalo Ramos also threatened late on, striking the crossbar with an audacious toe-poke.
In the end, Dembélé’s early goal stood as the winner, giving PSG just their second win in five matches across all competitions. For Arsenal, the defeat ends a 12-game unbeaten run and leaves them with a tough task in Paris next week if they hope to reach their first Champions League final in 19 years.
