Arsenal secured their first win of the Champions League campaign as they beat French Champions Paris Saint-Germain 2-0.
Goals in the first half from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were enough to see off PSG, who suffered their first defeat of the season.
Victory sees Arsenal climb to four points in the Champions League league phase, having not yet conceded a goal.
Here are five things we learnt…
PSG lack that X factor
Gone are the days of old where Paris Saint-Germain were glittered with star-studded world class players, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic roaming around the Parc de Princes with ease. Now, under the stewardship of treble winning coach Luis Enrique, the Spaniard has been tasked with guiding the French Champions down a different path, with plenty of youthful signings made in the past two seasons.
Arsenal look the real deal
Arsenal keep going from strength to strength. Facing PSG in the past would have been a daunting task for the Gunners of old, but now the north Londoners can go blow for blow with them, and as shown tonight, beat them. They defended superbly when called upon, and attacked with a swagger, and showed their qualities up and down the pitch. A dominant performance.
Set piece masters at it again
Another game, another goal from a set piece for Arsenal. The Gunners are imperious from dead ball situations in the Premier League, but in Europe’s elite competition last season, they failed to convert any of their set pieces. It only took two matches into the new look competition for Mikel Arteta’s men to put one of their chances away. Bukayo Saka’s darted free kick towards the near post evaded everyone, including PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, to give Arsenal a cushion in the first half.
Merino debut gives Arteta big boost
Seven weeks after signing from Spanish side Real Sociedad, Mikel Arteta was able to call upon Mikel Merino to make his Arsenal debut as a second half substitute. The Spaniard entered the fray in the 64th minute to a round of applause having finally returned from a shoulder injury which occurred in one of his first training sessions for the club. With captain Martin Odegaard out with an ankle injury, Merino’s return to fitness will be a welcome boost to Arteta, who can finally begin to rotate his midfield.
Kai Havertz’s hot streak continues
2024 will be remembered for the renaissance of Kai Havertz. After a slow start to his Arsenal career in the first half of 2023/24, the turn of the new year saw the 25-year-old end the campaign in a flourish, with nine goals and six assists from January to May. A mixed Euro 2024 has not halted the former Chelsea player’s form, with four goals and one assist in all competitions before tonight. Havertz continued his hot streak tonight with a brilliant header past Donnarumma to open the scoring for the Gunners
