Miserly Arsenal face PSG firepower in Champions League style clash
Arsenal’s immovable object meets the unstoppable force of Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s Champions League final offering a pronounced clash of styles.
Holders PSG’s flowing attack is arguably the continent’s most exhilarating, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are wedded to a pragmatic approach which ended their 22-year wait to win the Premier League.
The Gunners’ football this season has not won over many neutrals but after years of nearlys and almosts, Arteta’s strategy has paid dividends.
Arsenal’s consistency beat out Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to be crowned champions of England and led them back to Europe’s summit two decades after reaching the 2006 final.
In the Champions League Arsenal have conceded only six goals in 14 matches and are unbeaten — by contrast PSG let in 22 through the tournament.
“Without the ball, they are the best team in the world,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique of the north London side.
Arteta’s side depends on structure and discipline, seeking to control opponents by stopping them reaching dangerous areas, limiting their shots in the box — no Premier League team has conceded fewer.
The Gunners aggressively press opponents high, seeking to dominate territory, and hate giving the ball away themselves, avoiding risk in their passing.
They possess imposing, physical players, from impressive centre-back pairing Gabriel and William Saliba, through the spine of the team, in Declan Rice and imposing strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.
That aids their dead ball mastery, under the cunning eye of set piece coach Nicolas Jover, whom they signed from Manchester City in 2021.
Swiss newspaper Blick pondered whether Jover was “ruining football”, with the Frenchman reportedly paid a bonus per goal scored via a set piece.
“We want to be the best and the most dominant team in every aspect of the game,” said Arteta, imploring his team to score even more from dead balls.
With 27 Premier League goals scored this season from dead ball situations, 38 percent of their total, some have labelled Arsenal ‘Set Piece FC’.
“Every time they get a corner, my head is in my hands,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before in football.”
After three consecutive second place finishes, Arsenal recognise winning ugly is better than not winning at all.
“I don’t know how you celebrate one goal different to another — maybe for YouTube one is nicer than another,” said Arteta unperturbed by criticism.
Arsenal won seven games 1-0 this season in the Premier League, keeping 19 clean sheets.
If teams do penetrate the backline, they must beat David Raya, enjoying a superb season in goal.
The Spaniard has matched the record of nine clean sheets in the Champions League. A 10th could secure the trophy.
Their struggles from open play, particularly when star winger Bukayo Saka was out injured, frustrated even their own supporters at times.
Yet as tens of thousands turned up to celebrate the Premier League title, nobody was complaining.
Those joyous scenes outside the Emirates stadium, with some players joining the fans until past five in the morning, allow Arsenal to double down on their approach, particularly against a team as lethal as PSG.
Thriving in chaos
While Arsenal have sometimes lacked star power in attack, opponents PSG boast several electric forwards who thrive in organised chaos and will back themselves to break down the competition’s toughest defence.
Coach Luis Enrique may have weeded his team of superstars but Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue are some of the most dynamic attackers on the planet.
The French champions demolish teams in transition with searing pace, helping top scorers PSG net 44 goals in the Champions League, one short of the all-time record of 45.
PSG showed their attacking prowess in the first leg of their semi-final tussle with Bayern Munich, edging the German giants 5-4 in an all-timer. Arsenal seek to reduce risk, PSG encourage it.
“When we can keep the ball and create space, it makes the match easier,” said Luis Enrique after his team put five past Chelsea in the last 16 first leg.
“We showed that we are a real team, unpredictable.”
They racked up eight goals against the Blues on aggregate, plus six against Bayern Munich and four against Liverpool in the other knockout games.
If the final does not follow the script, it will be because Luis Enrique tears it up.
In the second leg against Bayern he shifted strategy and denied Vincent Kompany the end-to-end contest he expected in a 1-1 draw.
“We can’t always win with magic or extraordinary play,” said Doue.
However for the most part PSG, who put five goals past Inter Milan in last season’s final, have done just that.
Whichever style emerges triumphant will determine who leaves Budapest with the European crown.
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المصدر: The Namibian