‘Catastrophe’ – Arsenal’s Chances to Advance Boosted by Pundit If PSG Lose Key Player | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain return to the French capital with a narrow edge after a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday night in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal at Emirates Stadium.

Ousmane Dembele struck early for PSG, scoring the lone goal just four minutes in. He initiated the play with a pass to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, then continued his run into the box, where Kvaratskhelia found him with a slick outside-of-the-foot return. Dembele finished the move with a low shot that glanced off the post and in.

Arsenal appeared to have pulled level later in the match, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review, preserving PSG’s one-goal lead ahead of the return leg at Parc des Princes.

The win, however, came at a cost. Dembele exited with an injury, and his status for next Wednesday’s second leg is now in question.

Pundit on PSG’s chances to advance without Ousmane Dembele

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A report from RMC Sport revealed that the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner suffered a minor hamstring injury. As a result, if Dembele is forced to miss the return leg against the Gunners, it could spell major trouble for PSG.

“It’s a catastrophe because today he’s become an indispensable player,” Christophe Dugarry said on Rothen S’Enflamme (h/t Le10Sport). “He’s more than important—he’s essential, because of his stats, his behavior, his attitude, his work rate, his leadership… He’s become indispensable. Even though they’re very strong collectively, even though they’re a true team, it’s still the individuals who make the difference. When you lose your best player, the one who’s playing with the most confidence, it’s a catastrophe.

“That said, I’m not going to tell you Paris Saint-Germain can’t qualify without Dembele… They absolutely can, but it’ll be much harder—it’ll be a completely different match. They may need to think about something else, put a different plan in place, I don’t know… In any case, for Luis Enrique, it would be a major disruption.”