Dembele Sinks Arsenal as PSG Seize Edge in Semi-Final

French club gains advantage away in London as Dembele proves to be the difference on Tuesday

- Agence France-Presse

LONDON: Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique's side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

PSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favourites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time.

But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapses.

"We showed the kind of team we are. We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing that way," PSG boss Luis Enrique said.

"We suffered sometimes but could have scored the second goal. The second match is going to be very tough.

"The result means a little advantage for us. We can go to the final but there is still one match."

Arsenal's first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown.

Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenal's run to the semi-finals a "beautiful story".