Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya, remains optimistic that the Gunners can still advance to the UEFA Champions League final, despite a 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday.
Naija News reports that Mikel Arteta’s team will travel to Paris as the underdogs after Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal in the fourth minute at the Emirates Stadium.
However, PSG’s dominance in the first half did not translate into additional goals, and Goncalo Ramos, along with Bradley Barcola, squandered two late opportunities to extend their advantage.
The French champions also relied on Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made crucial saves against Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to maintain their lead.
Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Raya, drew encouragement from their resilient performance as he looked forward to the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7.
“They started quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15 or 20 minutes but after that we dominated most of the game, created the chances. Donnarumma made some good saves,” Raya admits.
“It’s only half-time, we take positives. They are a top team but credit to the players for the effort. We could have won the game.
“We know they keep possession a lot and are good at that. They had that chance and put it in the net. We had chances to score but we didn’t manage to.”
“We showed from the 25th minute of the first half that we can win against any team. We have showed in the season we can win away games too, so we’ll go to Paris next week trying to win,” Raya stressed.
“We have to approach the game the same way. We played well, we put them on the back foot and hurt them. Let’s go next week in Paris.”
Naija News reports that Arsenal experienced their first failure to score in a home Champions League match since a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in the round of 16 in 2016. This also marked their initial defeat at the Emirates Stadium in 18 European fixtures.
However, the north London club will welcome back Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey from suspension for the second leg, enabling Declan Rice to adopt a more offensive position.
Raya is confident that Arsenal, who eliminated the reigning champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, can once again overcome the odds as they strive to reach their second Champions League final and secure their first title in the tournament.
