Resolute PSG weather Arsenal storm, set up final date in Munich versus Inter

Stout defending and sharp counter-attack key to PSG making second Champions League final in 5 years

- Dhiman Sarkar

KOLKATA: And then there were two. Representatives from Paris and Milan, fashion capitals of the world, will bring to Munich on May 31 different and distinctive styles as they continue to evolve into markedly better versions of who they were. London will have to wait though on evidence of how Arsenal fared over two semi-final legs; it may not be long.

It can be odd talking about progress after a 1-3 defeat on aggregate, but Arsenal, impressively aggressive at the start against PSG, have come far under manager Mikel Arteta. The pasting of Real Madrid was one proof; extending their run in Europe by a round is another; the impending second-place finish in the Premier League, a third. Opta had Arsenal as fourth favourites to win the 2024-25 Champions League.

Yes, they will finish a fifth season without a trophy. Yes, there has been talk of them bottling it in semi-finals, especially in the light of this defeat and how the Carabao Cup went, but you only need to go back to mid-table league finishes between 2017-18 to 2021-22 to see where Arsenal were.

This was the first time 95% of his players were in a Champions League semi-final, Arteta said after losing through goals from Fabian Ruiz (27) and Achraf Hakimi (72), which came before Bukayo Saka's strike (76) and his miss from metres out in the 79th.