Arsenal will host PSG at the Emirates Stadium before heading to Paris for the decisive leg in a semi-final that promises to test their European credentials far more than Real Madrid.
Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, with the first leg scheduled at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, April 29, and the return leg at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, May 7.
The Gunners advanced to the semi-finals after a commanding 5–1 aggregate victory over Real Madrid, marking their first appearance in the last four since 2009.
PSG secured their spot by squeezing past Aston Villa 5–4 on aggregate, despite a 3–2 defeat in the second leg.
Arsenal and PSG have already met this season during the league phase, where Arsenal won 2–0 at home with first-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
Although there is talk that Havertz could make a surprising return from his hamstring injury before the end of the season, he will not make this tie.
Arsenal will also be without midfielder Thomas Partey for the first leg due to his suspension after he collected an asinine third yellow against Real Madrid in the 85th minute of the second leg when Arsenal were cruising through.
The winner of this tie will advance to the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31 and will face the winner of Barcelona v Inter Milan, after they knocked out Borussia Dortmund (5-3) and Bayern Munich (4-3) respectively.
Why do Arsenal have to play the second leg away from home again?
Despite finishing well above both Real Madrid and PSG in the League Phase standings, Arsenal still have to play both second legs of the quarter-final and semi-final away from home.
So what gives?
UEFA conducted the knockout draw in March, which decided:
- Quarter-final pairings
- Semi-final path
- Order of home and away legs
There is no League Phase seeding beyond the Round of 16. Once the bracket was set, higher-ranked clubs like Arsenal did not get any home-leg advantage in subsequent rounds, even when playing lower-ranked opponents like Real Madrid (11th) or PSG (15th).
Arsenal were third best in Europe but punished by the bracket
UEFA’s draw gave Arsenal this route:
- Last 16: vs PSV (14th) – second leg at home
- Quarter-final: vs Real Madrid (11th) – first leg at home
- Semi-final: vs PSG (15th) – first leg at home
Had UEFA reseeded per round or awarded home-leg advantage to the higher-ranked team, Arsenal would have hosted both return legs.
Instead, Real Madrid and PSG, despite worse records, were handed the tactical and psychological advantage of the decisive second leg at home. A petty gripe, but a gripe nonetheless.
UEFA’s current system completely nullifies the advantage of finishing higher in the League Phase once you’re into the quarter-finals.
Basically, all Arsenal got for finishing third was a home second leg against PSV – when they were already 7-1 up from the away leg.