Post-Mbappé PSG takes over London and shows itself as a contender for this Champions League.

The post- Mbappé PSG wants this Champions League title. They showed it by taking over the Emirates. First by overwhelming, then by controlling. Luis Enrique 's team was very serious against an English side lacking in bite. They had a lot of injuries, yes, but their performance was far from what they displayed in the quarterfinals against Madrid for a long time. [Narration and stats, 0-1]

Arteta was spinning, Odegard was throwing up his arms in a sign of helplessness, and meanwhile, PSG racked up 15 minutes of torment on Raya 's goal, resulting in a goal, a possible penalty, and several dangerous chances. The start of the Champions League semifinals showed what the French side had been hinting at in this final stretch of the season: They are a well-oiled team that knows exactly what they're playing for.

With 70% possession in the first half hour, the Parisians showed great taste for the ball, with the patience of Luis Enrique 's Spain, but with much more bite. They bit high to quickly recover the ball, and if they saw an opportunity to finish, they went for it without hesitation, driven by two daggers on the wings in Doué and Kvaratskhelia . If the play called for a pause, they returned to Donnarumma to build from their goalkeeper.

They looked for an outlet on the wing, but if one didn't appear, Dembélé would step up to offer it, as happened on the first goal of the match. A move that lasted almost two minutes of possession was completed by the midfielder after receiving a ball from Kvaratskhelia that he himself had previously passed to him. Declan Rice made a mistake by going after the Georgian instead of following the French striker, who has been on a roll this season with 33 goals and 12 assists, although the latter converted with his shin and went off injured in the second half.

It took Arsenal almost half an hour to adjust and create a scare. Not much. But enough to remind the Parisians that the match was at the Emirates. But the scare came soon after for the English, who could have gone into the break 2-0 down if Raya hadn't made a miraculous save on Doué's point-blank shot. PSG has all the skills in the game, both in possession and on the counterattack.

Arteta's men stepped up their game before the break. They pressed the French outlet and managed to get close to Donnarumma 's goal. They called for a penalty on Merino that wasn't awarded, a cross that Martinelli narrowly missed, and a brilliant shot from Raya from a long-range free kick that almost became a chance after Saka 's subsequent cross sailed through the Italian goalkeeper's box.

Donnarumma Show

The Italian appeared precisely in front of Arsenal's Brazilian forward after Achraf got out of position and Neves forgot about his back. The hard handball, below, was a deja vu of Raya's minutes earlier. It would have been a huge morale boost, given the chance came a minute before halftime. They could have done it a minute after the break, English-style, a free kick well taken by Rice , and Merino , Arsenal's number nine, put it in the net with a superb header, but he did so half a body too far ahead.

This disallowed goal encouraged the Gunners, who, aware they needed to get something more positive at home, won at the Emirates. The fact is that today was the Donnarumma of the great nights, and the Italian made another miraculous save on a shot from Trossard after an elegant and powerful run from Rice .

Arsenal, without definition

Arsenal were once again resembling the bossy, compact team they'd displayed against Madrid. They took advantage of the absence of the Parisian wingers and overwhelmed the French midfield, which was outnumbered and outgunned by the power of Real Madrid's attacking midfielder in particular. Dembélé 's injury didn't help, though he had been a great help in bringing the ball out and finishing high.

Precisely what the Londoners lacked was definition. They moved the ball very slowly and relied entirely on the individual talents of Saka and Trossard . PSG remained solid, creating two-on-one attacks on the flanks and making dangerous runs whenever they could. In two of those outings, in fact, Barcolá and Ramos , who had come on for Doué and Dembélé, missed the opportunity to score a second goal. The war will culminate in Paris, but the first battle is French.