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85 min Rice’s long throw is headed on and cleared desperately by PSG. They break devastatingly, as is their wont, and Raya dives crucially at the feet of the onrushing Barcola. Raya was on his heels at first but ended up making a fine save.
85 min It’s an open game now, with Arsenal threatening a lot more than they did at 1-0.
84 min: PSG substitution Bradley Barcola replaces a weary Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
83 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Mikel Arteta changes his wingers: Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke replace Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka. Both have put in an admirable defensive shift.
82 min Dembele’s clipped corner is helped on and over the bar, I think by Pacho. Whoever it was needed Steve Bould’s little eyebrows.
79 min This feels like a good time to bring on Gabriel Martinelli, who is one of the better substitutes in world football.
77 min: Kvaratskhelia hits the post!
Timber is superbly tackled by Pacho (I think) at one end, and within seconds Kvaratskhelia almost scores at the other. He lobbed the ball over Saliba, ran 60 or 70 yards and forced a shot from the angle that hit Lewis-Skelly and ricocheted onto the outside of the near post.
Saliba did really well to get back and put Kvarataskhelia under pressure as he took the shot.
76 min The Havertz shot remains Arsenal’s only shot on target. PSG have had three: Fabian Ruiz’s cross-shot, Hakimi’s free-kick and Dembele’s penalty.
74 min: Chance for Arsenal! Havertz slips Pacho 20 yards from goal but then overhits a relatively simple pass through to Saka. That allows Safonov to charge out and dive on the ball.
That won’t show up in the old xG, because there was no shot at goal, but it was a really good opportunity for Arsenal. Havertz had done the hardest part by beating Pacho.
73 min “This isn’t how I thought things would be,” says Lizz Poulter. “I’m a Brit living in France, a lifelong Manchester United fan, but would always support any English team in this situation, however I work with a HUGE PSG fan who can be quite (very) irascible/temperamental, and who can make my life very difficult if he feels like it. Feeling VERY conflicted right now. Come on you Gunners??”
72 min Vitinha cuts across a decent shot from 25 yards that brushes the roof of the net. Raya had it covered though.
71 min And we’re back.
70 min The scheduled drinks break comes at a good time for Arsenal, who need to clear their heads after that slightly unexpected equaliser.
The camera cuts to David Beckham and Jack Whitehall having a laugh somewhere in the stadium.
69 min Hakimi’s cross deflects behind off Hincapie. PSG have the whiff of blood in their nostrils.
Saying which, the corner is crap.
68 min “Maybe this final is going to be more like Arsenal v Barcelona in 2006 than Chelsea v Bayern,” writes Phil Podolsky.
66 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Jurrien Timber and Viktor Gyokeres replace Cristhian Mosquera and Martin Odegaard, so Havertz will drop into midfield.
Football is a brutal game. Mosquera was immaculate for 61 minutes, and then he made a split-second misjudgement and was punished by a genius.
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Arsenal (Dembele 65 pen)
Dembele sweeps a confident penalty into the bottom left corner. Raya dived the wrong way.
Kvaratskhelia plays a deliciously quick one-two with Dembele, scurries into the area and is fouled from behind by Mosquera. A clear penalty, and Mosquera is a bit fortunate to avoid a second yellow card.
62 min: Penalty to PSG!
And just like that, everything changes.
61 min Doue gets behind Hincapie for once, but his early cross is cut out by Gabriel. Moments later, Kvaratskhelia runs at Mosquera to win a corner. It’s swung in and punched away by Raya.
60 min Right here, right now, Arsenal Football Club are 30 minutes away from winning the bloody flippin European Cup. And they are increasingly close to breaking PSG’s will. Their defensive performance has been sensational.
58 min “As a Chelsea fan (can’t be doing with the bitter neighbour thing, come on Arsenal), this match is starting to give me 2012 Munich vibes,” says Julian Menz.
That’s interesting. I might be misremembering that game but I thought a Bayern win was inevitable for the first 87 minutes. Tonight has felt very different.
57 min Fabian Ruiz tries to slip a pass into Dembele in the area. It’s well read and cut out by Trossard.
56 min Saka and Trossard, Arsenal’s wingers, have played such an important defensive role. There has been no space at all for Doue and Kvaratskhelia.
55 min Hakimi cracks a free-kick around the wall. It bounces up awkwardly and is well held by David Raya.
54 min Saka is booked for a foul challenge on Doue. His studs bounced off the ball and scraped the sliding Doue’s shin. The free-kick is about 28 yards from goal; Vitinha, Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are over it.
53 min PSG are still trusting the process, but they must be starting to wonder whether it’s going to work tonight. They can’t get behind Arsenal for love nor money.
52 min Joao Neves is penalised for a foul throw. Yep.
51 min “The thing about defeating this PSG team,” begins Kári Tulinius, “is that you need to stop Kvaratskhelia, who’s probably the best player in the world, and Desiré Doué, who might be the best player in the world, and Ousmane Dembélé, who’s officially the best player in the world. If Arsenal see out this match, no one can say they didn’t do it on hard mode.”
50 min A familiar start to the second half – lots of PSG possession but all in front of the Arsenal defence.
Right here, right now, Arsenal Football Club are 40 minutes away from winning the bloody flippin European Cup.
48 min “Jeezo,” says James Humphries. “I made the Clive Thomas joke to my pal, as well. Middle-aged men are all alike, etc.”
Got any earplugs?
47 min Mosquera is booked for timewasting at a throw-in. Looked a bit harsh but I didn’t have the stopclock running so who knows.
47 min “Bonkers in Tufnell Park,” writes Steve Bradfield. “Never seen so many people in red and white shirts. If they win I think I’ll be wearing ear plugs in bed.”
46 min PSG get the second half under way. No substitutions yet.
“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.
Half 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.
45+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.
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.
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.
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.”
