Paris Saint-Germain travelled to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in the Champions League. The new-look league phase has provided a tough path for PSG and a visit to last season’s runners-up in the Premier League would result in the Ligue 1 title holders suffering their first loss of the season. Goals from Kai Haverts and Bukayo Saka in the first half would be enough for the London side to register all three points.
Donnarumma’s European nightmare continues
Two goals, two mistakes on set-pieces from Gianluigi Donnarumma on his return to the first team after missing the past three games due to an injury. Arsenal are exceptional at set pieces and don’t need any help crafting goals from these situations, but the hosts regardless, were given a helping hand by the Italian goalkeeper’s inability to keep calm under pressure. The second goal, a freekick from Bukayo Saka that slipped through the box, looked particularly egregious on the part of Donnarumma. The goalkeeper palmed the air as he watched the ball sail to the side of him and bounce into the back of the net.
These high-profile mistakes on European nights have been a consistent flaw in Donnarumma’s game to the point where costly errors in the Champions League have become a meme. It’s hard not to ignore the fact that PSG dipped into the transfer market this summer to add extra competition to the goalkeeping rotation with the signing of Russian international Matvei Safanov. The arrival from Krasnodar will likely be hoping that he will once again be given a chance to impress in place of Donnarumma in the coming weeks.
Absence of Dembélé: A point made and three points lost
The absence of Ousmane Dembélé was one of the biggest stories ahead of this game. There had been reports that the right winger had been left out of the squad that travelled to London following a heated row with manager Luis Enrique. However, the head coach had strenuously denied that claim in his pre-match press conference on Monday. Instead, Luis Enrique pointedly stated, “I don’t want to make a soap opera out of this… The issue concerns the player’s obligations towards the team, it’s not a problem between player and manager.”
A point was clearly made that no one is above the team, but were potential points lost because the France international was not present? It was always going to be a significant loss for Les Parisiens as Dembélé had featured in all seven of the club’s previous fixtures this season, where he had provided a creative outlet registering four goals and four assists. Occasionally the visitors had the chance to attack on a fast break but it was clear that they were missing Dembélé’s pace and his ability to spot a pass and these moments would swiftly fizzle. Desiré Doué, the summer signing from Stade Rennais, started in his place and struggled to leave an impression on the game.
Lee Kang-in cements role as PSG’s new number nine
Despite injury problems piling up in the number nine role with Gonçalo Ramos and Marco Asensio both unavailable, Luis Enrique remains unconvinced by Randal Kolo Munani. The club spent €90 million to bring the France international to the capital last summer, but this season the striker has instead been predominantly used during his limited minutes off the bench as a winger. Luis Enrique is thought to be unconvinced by his technical abilities and instead has given the striking role to Lee Kang-in.
In the second half, the South Korean international had flashes of danger. A twisting shot from distance looked tricky to deal with but was ultimately handled by former Brentford man David Raya. On a night where very few PSG players impressed, it felt like Lee did enough to keep Luis Enrique’s faith in a strikerless project.
