Dembele sinks Arsenal as PSG seize edge in Champions League semifinal
LONDON: Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semifinal against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday. Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay. PSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favorites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time. But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapses. Arsenal’s first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown. Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenal’s run to the semifinals a “beautiful story.” The last chapter might make for frustrating reading, but they aren’t dead and buried just yet. The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semifinal since losing to Manchester United in 2009. They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 3-0 in the first leg, despite a frenzied atmosphere as kick-off approached. When Arsenal’s players gathered for a pre-match huddle in the tunnel, Declan Rice implored his team-mates to give everything as he roared “if we don’t have the ball we die.” A video message from Arteta played on the Emirates screens struck a similarly rousing chord as the Spaniard urged fans to raise the roof. But PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phase. Arsenal were the one