William Saliba admits Arsenal players found it ‘difficult’ to stop PSG star

**William Saliba** acknowledges Arsenal found it tough dealing with **Ousmane Dembele** in their **1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain** in the **Champions League**.

 

**Dembele’s** early strike at the **Emirates Stadium** secured **PSG’s** win in the **first leg** of their **Champions League semi-final** clash on **Tuesday night**.

 

**Arsenal** had two major opportunities to pull level through **Gabriel Martinelli** and **Leandro Trossard**, but were kept out by a standout display from **PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma**.

 

**PSG** also came close to increasing their lead before the **second leg** in **Paris next Wednesday**, with both **Bradley Barcola** and **Goncalo Ramos** narrowly missing.

 

But **Saliba** admits that **Dembele**, who is now a **doubt for the return fixture** due to a **hamstring problem**, was the **main threat** Arsenal struggled to handle.

 

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**‘We’re a little disappointed to have lost and to have conceded a goal very early on,’** Saliba told **Canal Plus**.

 

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**Ousmane Dembele** scored **PSG’s** decisive early goal versus **Arsenal** (Getty)

 

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**‘We made up for it a little after that, but we suffered a lot in the first 20 minutes. We played better in the second half.**

 

**‘The tie isn’t over, we hope to win at the Parc des Princes. We weren’t surprised by PSG, we knew they were a strong team.**

 

**‘We got eaten a little at the start, we played badly. We must not give up, a lot of things can happen.**

 

**‘Dembele is everywhere, he’s moving around a lot. It’s difficult to mark him.**

 

**‘We can do better with the first goal. We’ll take the positives and go beat them there. We’ll have to show that we have character.’**

 

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**Vitinha** named **Gianluigi Donnarumma** as the **‘real MVP’** after **PSG’s** victory against **Arsenal** in the **Champions League** (**Instagram**)

 

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At the same time, **Vitinha**, who handed over his **Player of the Match** trophy to **Donnarumma** following **PSG’s win**, cautioned that **Arsenal** are still well in the contest ahead of **next week’s second leg at the Parc des Princes**.

 

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**‘It’s very difficult to come and win here, we saw that in October. We played a great game, even if we didn’t have the ball like usual,’** said the midfielder.

 

**‘That’s what great teams show. We have to adapt. We couldn’t have scored more, but we’re happy with the result. We were sure we could put in a performance like this.**

 

**‘There are people who don’t believe it, but we don’t care. The fans are incredible. We’re all working together.**

 

**‘It’s not over, we have to play a great game at the Parc des Princes. No, it’s not personal revenge. It’s the team. We put in a great collective performance, we showed our desire to go to the final.’**

 

Would you lik**William Saliba** acknowledges Arsenal found it tough dealing with **Ousmane Dembele** in their **1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain** in the **Champions League**.

 

**Dembele’s** early strike at the **Emirates Stadium** secured **PSG’s** win in the **first leg** of their **Champions League semi-final** clash on **Tuesday night**.

 

**Arsenal** had two major opportunities to pull level through **Gabriel Martinelli** and **Leandro Trossard**, but were kept out by a standout display from **PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma**.

 

**PSG** also came close to increasing their lead before the **second leg** in **Paris next Wednesday**, with both **Bradley Barcola** and **Goncalo Ramos** narrowly missing.

 

But **Saliba** admits that **Dembele**, who is now a **doubt for the return fixture** due to a **hamstring problem**, was the **main threat** Arsenal struggled to handle.

 

—

 

**Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday**

Receive daily news on your favourite team straight to your inbox with **Metro’s Football Newsletter**.

 

Subscribe to the newsletter and choose your club through the link we’ll send you to receive **tailored football content**.

 

—

 

**‘We’re a little disappointed to have lost and to have conceded a goal very early on,’** Saliba told **Canal Plus**.

 

—

 

**Ousmane Dembele** scored **PSG’s** decisive early goal versus **Arsenal** (Getty)

 

—

 

**‘We made up for it a little after that, but we suffered a lot in the first 20 minutes. We played better in the second half.**

 

**‘The tie isn’t over, we hope to win at the Parc des Princes. We weren’t surprised by PSG, we knew they were a strong team.**

 

**‘We got eaten a little at the start, we played badly. We must not give up, a lot of things can happen.**

 

**‘Dembele is everywhere, he’s moving around a lot. It’s difficult to mark him.**

 

**‘We can do better with the first goal. We’ll take the positives and go beat them there. We’ll have to show that we have character.’**

 

—

 

**Vitinha** named **Gianluigi Donnarumma** as the **‘real MVP’** after **PSG’s** victory against **Arsenal** in the **Champions League** (**Instagram**)

 

—

 

At the same time, **Vitinha**, who handed over his **Player of the Match** trophy to **Donnarumma** following **PSG’s win**, cautioned that **Arsenal** are still well in the contest ahead of **next week’s second leg at the Parc des Princes**.

 

—

 

**‘It’s very difficult to come and win here, we saw that in October. We played a great game, even if we didn’t have the ball like usual,’** said the midfielder.

 

**‘That’s what great teams show. We have to adapt. We couldn’t have scored more, but we’re happy with the result. We were sure we could put in a performance like this.**

 

**‘There are people who don’t believe it, but we don’t care. The fans are incredible. We’re all working together.**

 

**‘It’s not over, we have to play a great game at the Parc des Princes. No, it’s not personal revenge. It’s the team. We put in a great collective performance, we showed our desire to go to the final.’**

 

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