SANCHEZ IS THE SAVIOUR
...and Ospina is unlikely hero as Arsenal draw
ARSENE WENGER hailed unlikely hero David Ospina last night as the Arsenal manager’s huge selection gamble paid off emphatically.
Wenger sprang a shock by resting first- choice goalkeeper Petr Cech in place of Ospina, who produced several fine saves before Alexis Sanchez fired a late equaliser. Edinson Cavani had given Paris Saint-Germain the lead after 42 seconds. Wenger said: ‘This was maybe his most
Stomping bitterly away from the parc des princes last night, the locals now know how they feel over at Arsenal sometimes, in those dark moments when the howls of frustration echo as far as Finsbury park. played the best football, had the best chances, were without doubt the better team, failed to win.
Somehow, having been second best by a distance all night, Arsenal came away with a point and in doing so achieved one of their strongest results in Europe in recent seasons.
paris St-germain are exactly the type of team they have stopped beating of late — at least when it matters.
Contenders for the European crown, they sacked manager Laurent Blanc because he could not make a greater impression on this tournament. But familiar flaws remain under new manager Unai Emery. paris dominated, but did not make it count.
Edinson Cavani missed what should have been a hat-trick, while Arsene Wenger’s controversial selection in goal, David ospina, was quite brilliant.
So this became one of those oldfashioned European smash-andgrab raids but Arsenal won’t mind that, either.
they didn’t strictly deserve the point, but there won’t be too much guilt on the flight home. it’s been done to them often enough.
there were 12 minutes to go when Arsenal equalised with their first shot on target. mesut ozil did his best work of the night to set up a chance for Alex iwobi, whose shot was saved by Alphonse Areola.
the ball rebounded straight to Alexis Sanchez, however, and he returned it with interest.
paris looked stunned, as well they might. the odd flurry of corner kicks aside, Arsenal had barely been in this.
For Wenger, though, it was a result shot through with vindication. His critics were gearing up for another high time at his expense had Arsenal lost.
His starting Xi had found no room for olivier giroud, new signing granit Xhaka, or goalkeeper petr Cech. So, had this game ended in defeat, Wenger’s selections would have been held responsible — even though ospina, in particular, was outstanding.
instead, his faith was supported by a performance that got the result Wenger would no doubt have shaken on at the start — and certainly 42 seconds in, when Cavani scored, or 20 minutes later with PSG running riot.
it was Cavani’s second Champions League goal scored inside the first minute, a unique feat in the competition, and if he could only finish as well as he starts PSG would have been significantly clear before half-time.
Call it the Cavani conundrum — such a brilliant striker, yet one who seems to need five chances per goal. His header to give paris the lead was perfect, but his misses after that gave Arsenal’s suckers an even break.
the Champions League anthem had barely stopped resounding around this concrete bowl stadium when PSG went ahead.
there were 10 passes in the buildup but they were played at such devastating speed it seemed as if PSG got the ball from back to front in no more than two or three.
the crucial pass, though, was played by the outstanding marco Verratti in the heart of midfield. He clipped it out to full back Serge Aurier on the right flank and he was deep into Arsenal’s defences before nacho monreal had time to act.
Aurier took one, maybe two touches and whipped in a quite superb cross met by Cavani at the near post.
no point asking what Cech would have done about it, either. the same as ospina: nothing. He was powerless to intervene, Cavani getting ahead of Shkodran mustafi, to send a glancing header into the net.
Adding insult to injury, mustafi then spent the next 30 seconds moaning to referee Viktor Kassai of Hungary that, as there was a stray ball on the pitch, the goal should not stand.
Considering this obstruction was in Arsenal’s advanced right-back position and the goal came down the opposite flank and was scored in the six-yard box at the near post, he didn’t have much of a case.
if he was genuinely distracted by it, though, this would at least explain why he was not keeping such a close watch on Cavani.
So the fastest Champions League goal in PSG’s history and Arsenal were chasing shadows.
A collections of flicks, back-heels and feints in the ninth minute ended with an Adrien Rabiot shot deflected wide for a corner. then, from a corner on the opposite side four minutes later, Angel di maria tested ospina’s nerve and positioning with a vicious in-swinger that was more shot than cross.
the goalkeeper reacted well to tip it over and maintained that high standard for the rest of the match.
in the 19th minute, ospina read Di maria’s long pass early and hared from his line to head the ball clear when two yards outside his area. Last- ditch defending was required again soon after when Verratti played a fine ball that should have given Cavani PSG’s second goal.
it was monreal who saw the danger this time, chasing in from the left-back position to cut it out with a despairing lunge that was not seized upon quickly enough by his team-mates.
As a result, Cavani was first to react, chasing the loose ball down and getting enough on it to travel past ospina, now stranded yards from goal.
Cavani only had to complete a simple finish but tried to put it away with more power than was strictly necessary, losing accuracy in doing so. Slightly off balance, he steered the ball wide of the empty
target and sunk to the ground in regret. Not for the last time. In the second half, Ospina saved brilliantly at his feet, before following that with an acrobatic stop from a volley by Di Maria.
One final quick swoop on Cavani to prevent a late winner and his job was done. It was his night.
He couldn’t get to the injury-time corner that almost gave the points to PSG but neither could Marquinhos at the far post, thankfully, although it would have been justice from the French point of view.
Still, Arsenal have been slow starters in the group stage of this competition, so this was a welcome change of pace.
The rest of the group should be straightforward, even without Giroud in the next game, sent off along with Verratti late on for a childish episode of pushing and shoving after a foul by the Italian.
It is Basle at home next. If Arsenal can do without Giroud here, they can certainly do without him there.