ARSENE WENGER USED TO moan about how he couldn’t compete with oil-rich clubs owned by the government until the cows came home.
Mikel Arteta just keeps going, and his success is getting more and more amazing.
Bukayo Saka was on target as Arsenal beat PSG 2-0Credit: Getty
Kai Havertz also scored in the routine Champions League win
Nine days ago, Arsenal gave Manchester City of Abu Dhabi a real scare by drawing 2-2 at the Etihad. Now, they were easily beating Paris St. Germain, who are the pride of Qatar.
It helped that Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalie for PSG, made it easy for Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka to score in the first half.
But Arteta’s team, which is now four games clean against Pep Guardiola’s City, is looking more and more at ease back in the Champions League, where they were during Wenger’s last few years in charge.
It was a match between two of the most famous teams in Europe that has never won the European title. Based on this game, Arsenal looks much more likely to finally lift Old Big Ears than the French champions.
They have a great forward in Havertz, who scored the first goal by heading in Donnarumma’s mistake. Havertz has already scored the winning goal in a Champions League Final.
Other people from Arteta’s side, like Saka, who was sometimes mesmerising, also look calm at the top table.
The Gunners had a lot to be happy about in this game. Midfielder Mikel Merino, who they signed from Real Sociedad for £32 million in the summer but missed the first few games because of illness, made his debut in the second half.
The defensive midfielders Gabriel and William Saliba are also great at putting an end to any fun that the other team’s players might be having.
Arsenal hasn’t lost in 14 games across all divisions, and the best thing about it is that they don’t even seem to miss captain Martin Odegaard, who is hurt.
Even though PSG wasn’t as good as they were when Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe were playing for them, and the way this huge group stage is set up is confusing, there was still a buzz in the watery north London air because Arsenal hadn’t been in this competition in six years until last season.
Havertz opened the scoring with a fine headerCredit: Reuters
The German looks to be loving life as a striker
In their section of the Clock End, the Parisien fans dressed in black were trying to look scary. There were bright orange fireworks going off, and the Champions League song was playing in the background.
The Arsenal are getting used to being back among the best teams after years of watching Europa League games on Thursday nights.
These days, PSG is younger, more balanced, and more serious. Also, Ousmane Dembele was kicked off the team for breaking the rules, and manager Luis Enrique fired him.
That showed that things had changed in the locker room since the days when egotistical players ran the show at the Parc des Princes.
Early on, they were making things hard for Arteta’s team. However, Saka did hit the post after Arsenal’s new fullback Riccardo Calafiori ran inside to set him up.
Havertz had just wasted a good chance that was set up by Saka and the raiding Jurrien Timber when he scored the first goal 20 minutes in.
Leandro Trossard supplied a wicked centre from deep on the left and Donnarumma panicked, straying off his line and flapping, as Havertz escaped his marker Pacho and netted with a straightforward header.
Saka got the second as his free-kick went all the way throughCredit: Getty
The ace set the tone for victory with an all-round top performance
While Havertz is sometimes called a “false nine,” the German player has many of the skills of a real centre forward, among other things.
For Donnarumma – the keeper who broke English hearts in the 2021 Euros final shoot-out – it had not been a happy start, after he’d already received treatment following a collision with Gabriel Martinelli.
Many of the French fans, who were shirtless like the Georgians in the cold drizzle, kept yelling and dancing, and their team said they would respond.
First, Nuno Mendes hit the post with a shot. Then, Achraf Hakimi ran down the right side, cut inside, and caused David Raya to save with his legs at the near post.
So Arsenal’s second goal was both against the flow of play and a complete accident. But no one at the Emirates couldn’t care less.
Saka won a free kick near the goal line and then sent in a low, inswinging ball that Martinelli, Gabriel, and Thomas Partey all tried to hit but missed. But Donnarumma did it too.
Maybe it was all just another brilliant idea from Nico Jover, Arsenal’s set-piece master. Or maybe it was just completely crazy.
After that gift, Saka really began to purr, bringing out the Elvis hips, toasting his full-back and centring for Trossard, only for Donnarumma to suddenly remember that he is an elite goalkeeper.
At half-time, Arteta replaced Timber with Jakub Kiwior and soon his side almost conjured a gem of a third goal – Trossard to Havertz, who chipped a pass to Martinelli, who volleyed too close to Donnarumma.
Mikel Arteta was delighted to see Arsenal get their first European win this termCredit: AFP
Luis Enrique had to see his PSG side suffered their first loss in all competitions
PSG had their moments – Kang-in Lee shooting into the turf and up onto the crossbar before a decent penalty shout for handball against Calafiori fell on deaf ears.
But usually Arsenal’s back four were there, relishing the dirty work, bumping chests and fists, keeping the sheet clean.
Wenger made a mistake. There is a way to compete with the state-owned super-rich. It’s just a lot of damned hard work.