Declan Rice captured the mood and flagged a red flag with his final message, so Arsenal gathered at the huddle before facing the formidable challenge of Paris Saint German.
“If we don’t have the ball, we’re going to die,” Rice told Arsenal’s teammates as he finished his warm-up before the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal hasn’t died at all in tie, but they definitely have a hard time staying alive as they go 1-0 for their return in Paris.
The stage was set by a luxurious display of fireworks and fireworks for the first time in 16 years in Arsenal’s first Champions League semi-finals.
It was PSG that made it happen – and made it exactly in the way Rice was so afraid.
Osman Dembele’s four-minute finish, from the delivery of Kvicha Kvaratzkeria to the Arsenal keeper David Raya, was the culmination of 26 passes. It was a microcosm of PSG, and rice warnings were delivered in the most painful way.
To emphasize the domination of the PSG in the first exchange, they had a total possession of 71.6% in the first 26 minutes. The game period created the platform for the benefit of throwing a bucket of ice cold water over a white hot environment and returning to Paris for the second game next Wednesday.
During that same period, PSG had a notable passing accuracy of 86.5% for half of Arsenal, with a total ratio of 165 passes to 60.
In fact, the most important damage was being done when Arsenal finally read Rice’s memo.
Arsenal pulled it and had 55.4% ownership for the rest of the game, but Rice knew what was coming, and PSG was too good to stop early.
