Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are preparing for a huge UEFA Champions League semifinal, with just 180 minutes standing between them and a spot in the final. The two teams faced each other earlier in the league phase, but PSG have made noticeable progress since then.
Arsenal earned their spot in the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the second leg, securing a 5-1 aggregate victory. PSG’s path was far more dramatic. A chaotic second leg against Aston Villa saw them narrowly edge their opponents 5-4 on aggregate.
Both sides head into this matchup after some recent slip-ups. PSG were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Nantes and then suffered a surprise loss to OGC Nice, ending their unbeaten run in Ligue 1. Arsenal, meanwhile, settled for a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Vitinha talks about the early-season loss to Arsenal
On Monday, PSG midfielder Vitinha spoke to the media and was asked how this matchup differs from the one earlier in the 2024-25 season.
“That was a long time ago now,” Vitinha said (h/t Culture PSG). “A lot has happened since then. We’ve played a lot of matches and managed to overcome many challenges. So, it’s obviously a different game, and it’s a different stage of the competition too.
“Of course, we’re going to try to get a different result — we’ll do everything we can. We’re not going to change much, if anything, about our style of play because we always stay true to our way of playing. But of course, we’ll do some things differently because we lost, and tomorrow, we only want to win.”
