PSG 2-1 Agg (3-1) Arsenal Player Ratings: PSG Eliminate Arsenal and Fly to the Champions League Final for the Second Time in the Club’s History

PSG thrashed Arsenal 2-1 (Aggregate score: 3-1) in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday to secure a spot in the final for the second time in the club's history. The victory was led by a phenomenal performance of Gianluigi Donnarumma, who stood like a wall against all of Arsenal's attempts to score the first goal in the game. Fabian Ruiz opened the score for PSG, and Hakimi doubled it in the second half. Bukayo Saka pulled one back with the hope of staging a comeback, but it went completely in vain.

The game started with one-way traffic inside the PSG half as Arsenal had their first opportunity to score through Declan Rice's header, which went wide. The move started with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia caught in possession by Timber, who then stands up a cross towards the far post for the Englishman to miss. A long throw from the left that ends up in the middle of the penalty area, where Rice and Martinelli both assault the ball, came next. Although it appeared like Martinelli made contact, the ball was pushed goalward, and Gianluigi Donnarumma had to make a quick stop.

The first 10 minutes were crazy for the Gunners, but Donnarumma kept PSG in front single-handedly. After a corner which PSG cleared as far as Martin Odegaard, who drove in a low strike that the Italian goalkeeper superbly saved. Although long throws have always given Arsenal defensive issues, particularly on Saturday, they are their preferred offensive weapon in the early going.

After the initial 15 minutes, PSG started to have a grip on this game as they tried coming out from the back and breaking past the Arsenal defence with speed, but failed. Kvaratskhelia's brilliant attempt off the right-hand post gave them the first glimpse of a goal from just inside the area. Despite Raya's heavy beating, no PSG player was able to respond to the rebound.

PSG launched a counterattack and had a two-on-two with Arsenal's defence at the twenty-third minute. Although Bradley Barcola was good at timing the pass and creating space for Doue to fire, his attempt from close to the penalty spot was weak and went too close to Raya. Arsenal was quite disappointed by that.

Arsenal seemed to have full control of the game, but PSG always looked ferocious with their counterattacks. It was just that when PSG won a free-kick after a foul from Declan Rice. The initial delivery was cleared only as far as Fabian Ruiz, and he controlled it on his chest at the edge of the box and blasted a brilliant left-footed strike beyond Raya to give the Parisians a two-goal lead on aggregate.

The French side have started to grow into the game as they seized on an Arsenal error, and Kvaratskhelia squared it to Barcola, who cut inside the last defender but did not have enough room for a clean strike, and Rice recovered for Raya to save it. The first half was well dominated by the Gunners but was kept at bay by Donnarumma, and PSG strengthened their lead, pouncing on one of Arsenal's mistakes.

The second half did not start with the same flair as it had in the first, but Arsenal were yet again the superior side as they stitched attacks. PSG this time dealt with it well and tested Raya a couple of times. Around the 64th minute, Saka's swirling left-footed strike was heading towards the top-left corner, but Donnarumma again was the difference as he tipped it over.

Against the run of play, the referee stopped the game to look at the monitor for a potential handball and awarded a penalty. Vitinha was chosen to have his attempt from the spot, but Raya dives the right way to keep the score intact at 1-0.

Luis Enrique made his first change in the game by bringing on Ousmane Dembele, and he made his mark immediately after coming on. The Frenchman won the ball from Thomas Partey and nudged the ball into the path of Achraf Hakimi, who scored to make the score 2-0. Just four minutes after the game, Arsenal had a response after Saka pulled one back to give some hope to the Arsenal fans with a scoreline of 3-1 on aggregate. We will dive deeper into the PSG vs Arsenal player ratings.

Around the 80th minute, with the goal gaping, Calafiori's left-wing cross slipped past Donnarumma and found Saka, who fired a right-footed half-volley over the top. Then Arsenal tried a lot, but all their chances went in vain as Paris were quite strong with their positioning and game management.

With this defeat, Arsenal have never prevailed in a European match after losing the home leg, yet PSG's only elimination following an away victory in the first leg occurred against English forces. In the 2018–19 season, Manchester United rallied to make progress in Paris. After this start, it's reasonable to assume that the home crowd was a little nervous.

Now let's have a look at PSG vs Arsenal player ratings.

PSG Player Ratings vs Arsenal

GK- Gianluigi Donnarumma- 8.5/10

Weathered a storm during the initial 15 minutes of the game and was rock solid between the sticks. He was phenomenal against Arsenal's attacks and stood strong like a wall, making more than six saves in the game.

RB- Achraf Hakimi- 8.0/10

Scored the second goal for the French side and was very promising both in attack and defence. He took three shots on goal and was involved in seven defensive actions

CB- Marquinhos- 6.4/10

Solid in defence, he dealt with Arsenal's attack well using all his experience. Though his error led to Bukayo Saka's goal, he maintained his composure till the end of the game.

CB- Willian Pacho- 7.0/10

The 23-year-old defender capped a good defensive display but could not help his side qualify for the final. He was involved in 13 defensive actions and made nine clearances for Arsenal

LB- Nuno Mendes- 6.8/10

The Portuguese defender somehow managed to keep Bukayo Saka at bay. Though he was beaten several times on the left, he recovered well. He was involved in nine defensive actions and won six duels in the game.

CM- Joao Neves- 7.3/10

He won the most number of duels in the game, maintaining a passing accuracy of 90 percent. He showed good composure in the midfield despite excessive pressure from the Gunners.

CM- Vitinha- 6.8/10

Had a decent game in midfield, maintaining a passing accuracy of 82 percent. He missed the penalty in the second half.

CM- Fabian Ruiz- 8.4/10

Initially lost the midfield battle against the Gunners, but took good control of the errors that the opposition made. He scored the opening goal, giving Parisians the lead against the run of play.

RW- Bradley Barcola- 6.8/10

The French winger was decent on the right wing and maintained pressure on Arsenal's defence. He maintained a passing accuracy of 93 percent and created multiple opportunities in attack.

ST- Desire Doue- 7.1/10

He was the striker on paper but operated well on both sides of the wing, flying past the full-backs on counterattacks. He had three shots on goal and created a couple of opportunities for the Parisians.

LW- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia- 7.0/10

From the left side of the pitch, he was a menace to the defenders. He hit the woodwork in the first half and won nine duels in the game.

SUB- Ousmane Dembele- 7.0/10

PSG make a change of their own after the penalty, with Dembele replacing Barcola. He assisted the second goal of Hakimi

SUB- Lucas Hernandez- 6.5/10

He came on to replace Desire Doue around the 74th minute of the game.

SUB- Goncalo Ramos- N/A

Manager- Luis Enrique- 7.5/10

Enrique was spot on in the second half with his team grabbing the game by its neck. Demebele's transformation this season has been the focal point of Enrique's tenure at the club, and now he has taken the club to the finals of the UCL for the second time in the club's history.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs PSG

GK- David Raya- 8.5/10

The Spanish goalkeeper had a decent game, making four saves in the game. He saved a crucial penalty to keep Arsenal alive in the tie, but it went in vain.

LB- Myles Lewis-Skelly- 5.7/10

The 18-year-old English full-back did not have a great game, as he was well exploited by the PSG attackers. He lost three duels in the game and made only one pass into the final third.

CB- Jakub Kiwior- 6.2/10

The Polish centre-back had a normal game with nervy moments at times. He made eight passes into the final third and won four duels in the game.

CB- William Saliba- 5.7/10

The French defender completed the most number of passes in the game and was crucial at various junctures of the game, but could not help his side reach the final for the first time since 2006.

RB- Jurrien Timber- 6.9/10

The Dutch right-back had a good game, contributing both in defence and attack. He created a couple of opportunities in attack and was involved in eight defensive actions.

CM- Declan Rice- 6.1/10

The magic he showed against Real Madrid was not much replicated in the game, and one of his silly fouls in the first half resulted in Fabian Ruiz's goal.

CM- Thomas Partey- 6.9/10

He was decent with his defensive and attacking capabilities, but PSG was too strong to beat. He maintained a passing accuracy of 86% in the game.

CM- Martin Odegaard- 6.4/10

Controlled the game beautifully for the Gunners and was the key reason why Arsenal completely dominated in the first half and controlled the momentum for most of the time.

LW- Gabriel Martinelli- 6.5/10

The 23-year-old Brazilian had a good game on the left wing and had two shots on goal. One of which was saved by Donnarumma. He maintained a passing accuracy of 86% and won six duels in the game.

ST- Mikel Merino- 5.6/10

He was not very effective in the attacking third for the Gunners. He had two shots, which went pretty much wide of the goal.

RW- Bukayo Saka- 7.8/10

He was a big threat to Nuno Mendes on the right wing as he took full advantage of the full-back's positioning. He made a few crucial runs which could have been converted, but the centre-backs and the goalkeeper were proactive. He pulled one back but could not build upon that to stage a comeback.

SUB- Leandro Trossard- 6.5/10

The Belgian came on to replace Gabriel Martinelli around the 69th minute of the game.

SUB- Riccardo Calafiori- 6.5/10

The Italian left-back came on to replace Myles Lewis-Skelly around the 68th minute.

SUB- Ben White- N/A

Manager- Mikel Arteta- 6.0/10

Arteta was pretty much spot on with his tactics as the Gunners did not leave any stone unturned to score the first goal but failed. He carried his team through to the semi-finals of the competition despite so many players missing due to injury

Sportsdunia’s Player of the Match goes to Gianluigi Donnarumma.