Arsenal hold a slight advantage over Paris Saint-Germain going into Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first-leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been sensational in Europe’s elite club competition this season and thrashed Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to book their place in the last four. They beat Los Blancos 3-0 at home before travelling to Santiago Bernabeu and edging their Spanish opponents 2-1 on the night.
As for PSG, they have beaten English opposition twice to reach this stage of the tournament. They scraped past Liverpool on penalties in the round of 16 before beating Aston Villa 5-4 in the quarter-final.
Since PSG travelled to Villa Park for the second leg on Tuesday, April 15, Luis Enrique’s men have been forced to play three Ligue 1 fixtures in six days. They entertained Le Havre on Saturday, April 19, before travelling to Nantes on Tuesday, April 22 and then hosting Nice on Friday, April 25.
Although Enrique rotated his team throughout the block of matches, he played a full strength XI for their clash with Nice. It was the side that most expect to start against Arsenal in the Champions League, leaving those players just four days between that and their trip to north London on Tuesday.
Arsenal, however, have not kicked a ball in anger since Wednesday, April 23 after their Premier League game against Crystal Palace was moved forward due to the Eagles’ participation in the FA Cup. Arteta’s side have played just two matches since their Champions League trip to Real.
And while Enrique used his first-choice XI to face Nice, Arteta rotated his pack to face Palace. Bukayo Saka was named on the bench and Mikel Merino was left out of the squad entirely.
Although several regular starters, such as William Saliba, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, played a significant number of minutes against Palace, they have still had two extra days – and one match fewer – to prepare for the semi-final. That could give Arsenal an advantage going into the Champions League tie.
Arsenal are expected to be fresher and have had more rest and time on the training field to get their bodies ready and prepared for the task at hand, especially as they also haven’t had to travel, like PSG.
Previewing his side’s game against PSG, Arsenal head coach Arteta said in his pre-match press conference that it does feel like the “biggest game of his life”.
Arteta said on Monday: “It does and you sense it, you sense the energy, the enthusiasm that it’s something unique. It’s probably one of the biggest games that the Emirates have seen since we built it. We’re full of energy, enthusiasm and can’t wait to play the game tomorrow.”
Asked what it would mean to win the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, Arteta added: “Especially with the circumstances that we had this season, how we have overcome a lot of issues and challenges and the fact that the team is here as one of the four best teams in Europe.
“It tells you about the mindset, the spirit and how much we really want it. We are making history, it’s a beautiful story right now but we want much more.”
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