Arsenal suffer a narrow 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, with Martin Odegaard largely anonymous and Declan Rice’s lapse proving costly.
Ousmane Dembele’s early strike was enough to hand PSG the advantage, capitalising on a lack of urgency in Arsenal’s midfield transition.
The Gunners struggled to gain composure early on, with David Raya called into action to deny Desire Doue, while the hosts had a penalty appeal waved off after Mikel Merino was tackled by Joao Neves.
Arsenal gradually grew into the contest and Gabriel Martinelli nearly converted a Bukayo Saka delivery, though the flag was up.
He was denied again by Gianluigi Donnarumma moments later after a fine pass from Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Just after the interval, Arsenal believed they had levelled when Rice’s free-kick was nodded in by Merino, only for VAR to disallow the goal for a marginal offside.
Donnarumma again frustrated Arsenal when he tipped Leandro Trossard’s low strike onto the post.
PSG could have extended their lead late on, with Bradley Barcola squandering a one-on-one chance and Goncalo Ramos rattling the crossbar moments later.
The result leaves Arsenal needing a decisive response in the return leg, with Odegaard’s subdued outing and Rice’s first-half error adding pressure ahead of a critical second leg in Paris.
