Thierry Henry believes Arsenal should take inspiration from Paris Saint-Germain after falling 1-0 behind in their Champions League semi-final tie with the Ligue 1 champions.
Arsenal were second best throughout Tuesday’s first leg at Emirates Stadium, which was stunned into silence when Ousmane Dembele gave PSG a fourth-minute lead.
Mikel Merino had an equaliser ruled out for offside following a VAR check, but it could have been worse for Arsenal, with Bradley Barcola wasting a gilt-edged chance and Goncalo Ramos clattering the crossbar late on.
Still, they will head to Paris next week with an uphill task, though Gunners legend does not believe a turnaround is beyond Mikel Arteta’s side.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry pointed to PSG’s own fightback in the quarter-finals against Barcelona last season, which saw the Parisiens recover after losing the home leg 3-2 to triumph 6-4 on aggregate with a 4-1 away win.
Henry said: “There is another tie. PSG were much superior, in my opinion, in this match. There are a lot of things that need to change for Arsenal to beat PSG. You never know what can happen.
“I’m thinking of PSG against Barcelona last season. Everyone thought it was over, but they ultimately won the return leg easily.”
Hope for Arsenal can perhaps be found in doubts around Dembele’s fitness for PSG.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona forward was withdrawn in the 70th minute to protect a hamstring issue, though he is expected to be fit for the second leg.
“As soon as Dembele came off, PSG dropped a bit more,” Henry said. “It was easier for Arsenal to put pressure because Dembele wasn’t coming and getting the ball.
“But, yeah, like I said, you’re still in the tie. Anything can happen.”
