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“One for the purists* this,” says Niall Mullen.
“*Those who enjoy pure narcotics.”
Half-time reading
The World Cup starts in less than a fortnight, you know.
ShareHalf time: Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Arsenal
That was the first half of Mikel Arteta’s dreams. Kai Havertz, selected ahead of Viktor Gyokeres, scored a superb early goal and Arsenal kept PSG at arm’s length for the rest of the first half. Any team in history, even Franco Baresi’s AC Milan, would have been proud of such an immaculate defensive performance. But they have to do it all over again when the second half begins.
45+7 min Arsenal win a corner on the stroke of half-time… and the referee blows for the break before they can take it. Somewhere in the world, Clive Thomas nods knowingly.
45+5 min Fabian Ruiz thrashes an awkward cross-shot from the left wing that is spilled by David Raya. Happily for Arsenal, he has enough time to retrieve the loose ball.
Share45+3 min: Vital tackle by Marquinhos!
Arsenal work the ball superbly on the right. Mosquera plays a square ball into Odegaard, who slips a lovely first-time pass through to Havertz. He takes a touch and hits a shot from eight yards that is crucially blocked by Marquinhos. Yikes, that was so close to 2-0. I’d like to see it again to see whether Havertz’s first touch was too heavy.
Marquinhos earns his corn. Photograph: Andreea Alexandru/APShare
Updated at 12.56 EDT
45+1 min PSG continue to trust the process, with few signs of impatience when they have the ball. It’s fascinating to watch, even if there have been no clear chances at either end.
45 min There will be six minutes of added time, mainly because of the drinks break and the Safonov injury.
45 min PSG are starting to look more dangerous as we approach half-time. Dembele turns Trossard neatly just outside the area before slapping a curler into orbit.
44 min “My favourite of the genre was Batigol at Wembley,” writes Niall Mullen. “A collector’s item as well, the ball somehow going over Seaman’s head.”
A veritable Batigolazo.
43 min Mendes gets round the back and hammers a cross that is only partially cleared by Hincapie. Fabian Ruiz lunges for the loose ball, six yards out, but heads wide. Half a chance, which makes it PSG’s best so far.
42 min “It may just be me,” writes Gary, “but Fabian Ruiz looks like a confused banker after a few pints wandering around the city in his gilet suddenly remembering he’s playing in the Champions League final.”
41 min Mendes tries an imaginative pass around the Arsenal defence towards Dembele. He doesn’t quite get it right, however, and it’s cut out on the edge of the area by you-know-who.
40 min “That Havertz strike reminded me of the one on one method favoured by former Arsenal centre forward Malcolm Macdonald,” writes Brian Withington. “He was apparently coached to put his laces through the ball aimed directly at the keeper’s throat – the theory being that the latter would instinctively flinch and get out of the way or need urgent replacement.
”I saw him put theory into practice at Upton Park against Bobby Ferguson who just managed to get his head down and hands up but could only partially arrest the ball’s progress into the net.”
Are you saying goalkeepers don’t like it up ‘em?
38 min Arsenal’s defensive performance so far is about as good as it gets. PSG, the best attacking team in the world, have had 76 per cent possession and no shots on target.
37 min Dembele whacks a curler from the edge of the box that is superbly blocked by the stretching Gabriel. He’s in John Terry mode, throwing himself in front of everything and everyone.
Ousmane Dembele’s shot is blocked by Gabriel. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 12.48 EDT
36 min Saka is barged over by Nuno Mendes, a needless foul that reflects PSG’s burgeoning frustration. Rice swings the free-kick into the box and Havertz is penalised for something or other.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is felled by Paris St Germain’s Nuno Mendes. Photograph: Márton Mónus/ReutersShare
Updated at 12.45 EDT
35 min “A drinks break in 24C weather?!” sniffs Peter Oh. “The game’s gone. And in any case, the players are more Hungary than thirsty.”
34 min A cute-looking chip into the area from Dembele is claimed easily by Raya. Arsenal are defending immaculately.
32 min “That was a Giggsesque finish by Havertz,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Shame it was too early in the game for a hairy-chested shirt twirl. But then the German seems a bit more circumspect than that.”
Updated at 12.38 EDT
31 min Doue plays a give-and-go, moves into the area and is expertly tackled by Gabriel. There’s no eye in the Arsenal needle, not even for PSG.
29 min “I’m still scarred by that unwatchable 1994 final between Arsenal and Parma,” says Niall Mullen. “At least I know that next year Raya will be beaten from the halfway line by a former Spurs player.”
Harold Kane esq.?
28 min Safonov is okay to continue.
26 min Lewis-Skelly surges through midfield and finds Odegaard. He gives the ball to Saka, whose dangerous right-foot cross is pawed away bravely by Safonov, diving in front of Trossard. He was accidentally caught on the head, either by Trossard or Marquinhos, and needs treatment.
That was a vital piece of goalkeeping, without which Trossard may well have scored.
PSG keeper Matvey Safonov claws the ball away from Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard. Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersBut his head is caught by the knee of teammate Marquinhos. Ouch. Photograph: Maxim Thore/BILDBYRÅN/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 12.43 EDT
24 min Play resumes. In terms of chances it was a dull first quarter, not that Arsenal should or will care.
23 min Time for a drinks break. What happened to all those Arsenal-branded water bottles?
22 min “With Arteta at Arsenal and the rumours about this afternoon’s managerial merry-go-round, it’s astonishing to think that contemporaneous Basques could be running leading great British football institutions (and Chelsea) at the start of next season,” says Paul Griffin. “I imagine they may be some concerns about this in the Basque region and my only advice would be that they should leave the EU. Our likely future PM has explained that there are only sunlit uplands to this.”
20 min Arsenal are defending with their usual expertise and authority. Whether you can do that for 90 minutes against PSG I’m not sure, but right now they are relatively comfortable.
18 min Saka tried to clear the ball, missed his kick and the ball hit the top of his chest before deflecting onto his arm. You never know in the Champions League but on this occasion it’s been cleared.
PSG have had 80 per cent possession but no shots on target.
16 min PSG appeal for a penalty when the ball hits the arm of Saka in the Arsenal area. Nothing given on the field but I assume it will be checked.
The Paris St Germain players claim handball as Bukayo Saka clears. Photograph: Márton Mónus/ReutersShare
Updated at 12.31 EDT
14 min “I’m still trying to work out why the PSG goalkeeper kept his arms pinned to his side like a defender trying to avoid a handball shout,” says Adam Roberts.
I assume it was the 0.021 seconds of reaction time. (I don’t think he’s a great keeper, mind.)
13 min Fabian Ruiz makes a good run into space on the left but drags an indeterminate cross-shot well off target.
12 min Fun fact: the chant “1-0 to the Arsenal” began in Paris in 1994.
11 min A loose ball almost breaks for Kvaratskhelia in the Arsenal area. He’s about to shoot from eight yards when Gabriel stretches a leg around him to make a brilliant challenge.
10 min The last team to come from behind to win a Champions League final was Real Madrid in 2014. Before that it was Chelsea in 2012 and then Barcelona in 2006, against Arsenal.
8 min Since you asked, Alan Smith’s goal against Parma in 1994 was scored in the 20th minute.
What a finish from Havertz! A ricochet on the halfway line allowed him to gallop into space on the left. He kept going, all the way into the area, realised there was no support and lashed a rising drive past Safonov from a very tight angle.
Perhaps Safonov could have done better – he was starting to crouch and the ball went straight above his head – but it was a brilliant strike.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz shoots … Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersThe ball flies above PSG keeper Matvey Safonov and Arsenal have the lead. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty ImagesHavertz (centre) celebrates with teammates Martin Odegaard (left) and Piero Hincapie. Photograph: Nick Potts/PAThere’s joy amongst the Arsenal fans too. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PAShare
Updated at 12.26 EDT
GOAL! PSG 0-1 Arsenal (Havertz 6)
Kai Havertz has scored in another Champions League final!
5 min Fabian Ruiz fouls Saka, throws the ball away and is a bit fortunate to escape a yellow card.
3 min A pretty quiet start, with PSG popping the ball around in their own half.
1 min Peep peep!
“Was that Jurgen Klopp on bass in The Killers?” asks Simon McMahon. “In any event, Uefa missed a trick not getting Nathan ‘The Asp’ Aspinall to come out during Mr Brightside wearing a half and half scarf.”
Arf! Talking of darts, I invite any lovers of empathy to watch this clip and not shed a tear or fifty.
“Everyone thinks Arsenal could be on for a real hiding tonight, so perhaps we should ask how Chelsea managed to beat them in the Club World Cup final,” writes Philip West. “Many probably expected PSG to roll them over too, but somehow they lost. Can we clutch straws from any of this?”
The players are about to emerge from the tunnel. PSG beat Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate in last year’s semi-final – but that scoreline was slightly flattering, and Gianluigi Donnarumma made three awesome saves across the two legs. Arsenal know they can hurt PSG; now they just have to beat them.
“I like The Killers,” says Andrew Goudie. “Bbut come on, not now.”
Agreed. They should be on at half-time, surely.
“Sitting in my local sports club bar in near solitude,” writes Andy Gordon. “I’m wondering if either Arsenal are even more unpopular than I thought, a lot of people are assuming that kick off is the usual 8pm or I’m missing a cracking episode of Location, Location, Location?”
Do you live in the Kerguelen Islands?
“I’m not against an earlier kick off, and I noted Ceferin’s comment on more time for ‘reflecting on the game of the season’,” begins Rob Knap. “Those words conjure images of turtle-neck sweaters, chin scratching and wise discussion at cafe tables. If Arsenal win, I would like to think their fans will find an altogether more appropriate way to ‘reflect’ on their victory (fortunately, Budapest caters for both approaches).”
I hope your friend and mine, Barry Ferst, is at the game and can be picked out in the crowd.
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Philipp Lahm
Before the Champions League final, I want to spare a thought for one of the eliminated semi-finalists. Diego Simeone impresses me. For 15 years, he has had to push the boulder up the mountain again and again with Atlético Madrid. We at Bayern Munich were knocked out by him during our peak phase in 2016. Now I read somewhere that Simeone should question himself. Yet he asserts himself time and again with inferior means. It is a pity, Sisyphus Simeone has long deserved a Champions League title.
Two other clubs remain whose coaches take a similar approach. Resembling conductors, they pedantically practise distances, sequences, passes, choreograph their defence and orchestrate their attack. Their operating system, ball-oriented zonal marking, is state of the art. Their team behaves like a swarm. Last year, Paris Saint-Germain against Arsenal was the semi-final; this year, they are determining the winner. The right teams are in the final.