“The message is that they have to play all the balloons with us. I therefore ask them to bring their crampons, their title protectors, their shorts and their jersey! And let's play Tuesday evening together to live one of the most beautiful evenings in the Emirates ”. A few days before the shock of the semi-final go to the Champions League between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, Mikel Arteta invited fans of the Gunners and the public of the Emirates Stadium to create an incandescent atmosphere for this XXL meeting. 19 years later, the London club dreams of playing a second C1 final and for that, it needed the famous 12th man. Unfortunately for the partners of Captain Martin Odegaard, the Emirates does not turn into Bombonera on demand.
A soft audience, a mocked tifo
Even before the start of the meeting won by the Ile-de-France residents (1-0), the few arsenal fans arrived early in the English grounds were arrested by the warm atmosphere created by the parking of Parisian supporters. The lovers of the red and blue gave voice and jumped to the heart. “PSG supporters were already delirious 45 minutes before kick -off”was posting a spectator on X, joining a supporting video. Later, when the two teams entered the field, Arteta and his men hoped for a noisy welcome, as very often happens in other stages when the Champions League anthem. In vain. Instead, the Emirates caused the observers' hilarity by deploying a tifo of a minimalist cannon and without great inspiration.
“Arsenal, the first semi-final of C1 in 16 years and it is their tifo …”, could also read on X. “Many wanted to produce a memorable banner, but instead, the club provided such a disappointing that it seemed to have been produced at the last minute by a printing”writes the Telegraph. Cold picked up by PSG and Ousmane Dembélé in the 4th minute, Arsenal could not hope for worse scenario. Dominated by the French club during the first 40 minutes, Declan Rice's partners undoubtedly hoped for an extra soul to help them overthrow the steam. There was a reaction from London players at the end of the first period and throughout the second, but the public of the Emirates never transcended. Areta and her players were often filmed in the process of trying to harango the crowd in vain. An atmosphere far from being that of major meetings. In France, viewers could above all see the images of the mines of worried and anxious supporters offered by the English realization.
PSG fans impressed the English
Former Manchester United star used to vibrate Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney did not fail to highlight this absence of character from the London public. “They (PSG) were by far the best team. Tactically, they were excellent, they knew when to press and get in a lower. They could have won by two or three points. I was a little disappointed with the way they played, just like the supporters. Against Madrid, they were excellent, but today they were discreet and it was a failure. The supporters had to be there tonight. On both sides, Arsenal was not good enough. Players need help. I found that the supporters present against Madrid were the best that I never heard. They gave an enormous amount of energy, but tonight, they did not give them the same energy, it can make the difference. The supporters were very numerous – and I do not blame them – but if they had brought the same energy in Madrid, they could have made the difference ”he said on Prime. For its part, the Telegraph was a little hard.
“Mikel Arteta learned at his expense that Arsenal cannot create a fortress. Arsenal manager was nervous to the Emirates after his pre-match exaggerated war cry. He must learn to moderate his hysteria. (…) For such a rhetoric to work, you must first have the ball. And as Arsenal found itself overwhelmed and surpassed at every moment by Paris Saint-Germain, the rant of the manager had the opposite effect of that expected, the delirious pre-match atmosphere turning to the final whistle into bitterness and regrets. (…) Arteta repeatedly repeated that it was necessary to try to create a greater intensity at home, even urging supporters to make this stage more hostile than Anfield. But such a reputation cannot be deserved. Where Liverpool has the timeless accents of You'll Never Walk Alone, the arsenal war cry, North London Forever, has only existed since 2022. Arteta demanded a fortress, but PSG has finally storming the ramparts with disconcerting ease. »» In the end, the only ones to have impressed everyone were the men of Luis Enrique and their supporters. “In fact, the most impressive choreography at the start was made by PSG supporters, whose coordinated jumps were incessant. One of the main reasons is cultural, of course: England simply has no equivalent to the European Ultras culture ”concludes the Telegraph. And the atmosphere of the Parc des Princes in a week will not contradict this analysis.
