This one felt different to Real Madrid. I don’t know why, I sort of know how, but pre game I didn’t have the same vibes. Pre Madrid I was very much “ahh we’re underdogs and probably won’t win, so I’m here for the craic” but, as the game played out, things changed.

Real sat off, we grew in to the game, we built on that in the second half.

Yesterday evening didn’t even get the chance for that. PSG had our number in the first 30 minutes and we looked scared. Maybe the occasion got to some of the players? Maybe there was a tactical tweak that arsenal weren’t expecting? Arteta seemed to suggest that in his post match press conference and suggested that it was fixed within about 15 minutes. By then it was too late.

Whatever it was, PSG pressed us high, they were organised, they easily won the first third of the game and it was in that period that they scored an impressive goal. In off the post you can maybe make the case for fortune, but you buy a ticket, etc, etc, blah, blah…

In truth, PSG deserved their lead. They just looked better than us. Maybe you can make the argument that they had a full compliment and we were four first teamers light (Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey and Kai), but I don’t think I quite buy that, because I think there were some players out there who will have regrets about their performance.

Leo Trossard was poor. He offered very little throughout the game save for one effort that saw Donnarumma fist-pumping like he’d just saved a cup final peno. To be fair it was a quality save, but that was the sum of Trossard’s parts on the night and I’m sorry, but that’s not enough for a Champions League semi final. You need to be showing more for your teammates, you need to be finding pockets and at a time in which Mikel Merion has adapted to that forward position and shown himself to be a capable centre forward, Trossard has shown why in the return leg he needs to be relegated to the bench for the game in Paris. I will say this for him though – quite why Raya was lumping the ball so long to him at times, or how we seemed to be terrified and just clearing our lines in that first half, was pretty poor indeed and it hardly gave him a chance against their centre halves.

The other player who I thought was distinctly average was, I have to say, Martin Ødegaard. Mate, you’re our captain, it’s the semi final of the Champions League, if we’re going to win this, you are one of the key contributors to our success. What we got from him was…well…what was it? There was no incision, there was no penetration, there was no guile or craft. He puts a hell of a lot of effort in, he moves across the pitch and covers so much ground, but so did Lee Carsley for Everton. But he wasn’t nearly at Martin’s level. But his level this season has been poor and last night he once again gave a performance that had me questioning. I’m questioning what can be done about it. We don’t have another option unless you’re looking at the kid Nwaneri, but that’s a big ask to get him to become the creator for which this team flows. Odegaard’s performance was a whole lotta nothing and he just seemed to be there to collect the ball and keep it ticking over. He’s not a six, that’s not his job, his job is to find pockets and find players making runs. He offered none of that yesterday. And if you’re a regular on this blog you’ll know that I have loved watching him play. But this season…aye carumba…

PSG took their early chance. Arsenal thought they’d levelled but the margins went against us. Quite quite semi automated offside takes that long is beyond me but there you go. Those margins were pretty much in favour of PSG all night to be fair, which wasn’t helped by a referee who was insistent on being finicky with anything Arsenal players did, but was happy for PSG players to do a little bit of cheekiness when they’ve wanted. I’m by one of the corner flags and when a Martinelli rebound off Hakimi went out for a throw in, Dembele went down and next thing you know, Hakimi is by the halfway line taking the throw in. Yet Timber and MLS were repeatedly asked to take steps back. This is small, pointless stuff, but this kind of inconsistency is maddening when you’re in the ground. It felt like two-thirds of the decisions – just the small ones like fouls, etc (the one in which Saka got a yellow card was the biggest joke I have ever seen) – were all going to the away team on the night. As a home fan you expect 60/40 on decisions, because away from home you expect the same, but tonight it was all in PSG’s favour and you can bet your bottom dollar it will be the same in Paris next week too.

But we can’t really labour the point on the referee when there were too many Arsenal players who just seemed over-awed by the occasion at the start. I just felt all over the pitch they just didn’t get PSG’s approach right. We played into their hands. It was either a naïve, ill-prepared, or inhibited performance that leaves PSG with one foot in the final. We were hooking the ball over our shoulders just to clear it, we didn’t seem ready for PSG to press as high as they did and their early goal had me having flashbacks to 2009 when all of the air was sucked out of the ground within a few minutes. To be fair the atmosphere wasn’t as good as Real Madrid, but the context of the game played the part there and I think that early goal impacted the atmosphere. That’s always going to happen I think.

So now we have a bit of a mini mountain to climb. PSG will, rightly, be heavily favourites. I think we needed to get something from this game, so I’m not supremely confident, but Arteta needs to pick the team up to go again on Saturday and then again on Wednesday next week for the return leg. Yes, it’s only halftime. Yes, this Arsenal team is capable of clawing back a one-goal deficit, but if we played into their like that in Paris, we might as well not bother, because it felt like an Arsenal team playing within itself and that makes me sad in the cold light of day.

Catch you all tomorrow.