Arsenal take on French giants Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night in their decisive Champions League semi-final and a player who has already hurt the Gunners could take to the pitch
Arsenal are facing a potential Champions League nightmare with Ousmane Dembele set to return for Paris Saint-Germain. The Frenchman has been struggling with a hamstring issue that he picked up in the first-leg at the Emirates.
Speaking at the time, PSG boss Luis Enrique said: “Ousmane felt a slight discomfort. We don’t know how bad it is until the tests are done. We’ll try to have him ready for the second leg, but if he’s not, someone else will step in.”
An update from the club shortly after read: “Ousmane Dembélé has strained his right hamstring. His condition is progressing well. A further assessment will be carried out shortly.”
Dembele consequently missed the weekend’s clash with Strasbourg – a game that PSG actually ended up losing 3-1. But he could return in time for Wednesday’s clash at the Parc des Princes, according to reports in France.
As per L’Equipe, the winger has returned to training ahead of the game and there is optimism that he could be involved for the Champions League tie. There is also hope that he could even return to the starting line up against Arsenal.
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That will certainly be unwelcome news for the Gunners given the Frenchman’s stunning form this term. The 27-year-old has scored 33 goals and notched 12 assists in all competitions this season, including an early strike during the first leg at the Emirates.
Speaking after that game, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed his side were struggling with a tactical problem, but did not confirm whether it related to Dembele. He said: “Certainly, we don’t score a goal and concede one.
“You have to, but we did a lot of things very well as well. We had a spell in the first… I think the game had phases. The first 15-20 minutes, especially them scoring so early in a great combination. When the margins are so small, the finishing is unbelievable.
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“Then we had especially one issue that we corrected after 15-20 minutes. We sustained that for the rest of the game, which I think turned the game around. If you want to win the Champions League final, you have to do something special. We’re going to have to do something special in Paris to be there.
“I cannot tell you (the issue). I’m telling you it’s just something that is very specific but very important, especially the way we play. We corrected and it’s not easy to correct it constantly, but we did it and we did it much better.”
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