Arsenal vs. PSG live score: UEFA Champions League result, updates, stats as Dembele strikes early in semifinal

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain face one another in an intriguing semifinal clash as their respective quests for a maiden UEFA Champions League success continue.

The Gunners were 2-0 winners when these teams met during the league phase last October. However, since the turn of the year, Luis Enrique’s team looks like a different beast and has played some of the most vibrant attacking football in Europe.

PSG are aiming to make Arsenal their third successive Premier League victims after seeing off Liverpool and Aston Villa in the last 16 and quarterfinals, respectively.

Arsenal are riding high after dispatching 15-time winners Real Madrid in the previous round.

The Sporting News is following the Arsenal vs. PSG match live, providing score updates and commentary

Latest live updates | Team news and lineups | Where to watch where you are

Arsenal vs. PSG score

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

Lineups:

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 22, David Raya (GK) — 12. Jurrien Timber, 2. William Saliba, 15. Jakub Kiwior, 49. Myles Lewis-Skelly — 8. Martin Odegaard, 23. Mikel Merino, 41. Declan Rice — 7. Bukayo Saka, 19. Leandro Trossard, 11. Gabriel Martinelli

PSG (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK) — 2. Achraf Hakimi, 5. Marquinhos, 51. Willian Pacho, 25. Nuno Mendes — 8. Fabian Ruiz, 17. Vitinha, 87. Joao Neves — 14. Desire Doue (9. Goncalo Ramos), 10. Ousmane Dembele (29. Bradley Barcola), 7. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

MORE: Arsenal vs. PSG prediction, odds, betting tips and best bets for Champions League semifinal 1st leg

Arsenal vs. PSG live updates, highlights, and commentary

77 mins: Nicely worked PSG attack, Barcola sets it back to Neves, who lifts a shot over from the edge of the box. Should have done better.

76 mins: Saka shuffles out of a tight spot to work Donnarumma at his near post but the offside flag is up.

74 mins: Kvaratskhelia spots Raya off his line and goes for glory from the best part of 50 yards. He has the distance but not the direction. Ramos is about to come on for PSG, presumably for Doue, who is tackling centre-forward duties presently.

69 mins: Arsenal huffing and puffing but not much in the way of clear chances. Barcola replacing the goalscorer Dembele in PSG’s first chance.

62 mins: Kvaratskhelia looks like he gets the slip on the Arsenal defence but loses his footing. PSG edging their way back on top here.

61 mins: Doue gets his dancing shoes going again before Merino brings him to ground.

56 mins: Fabulous save from Donnarumma! This one might just be better than Raya’s in the first half. Trossard goes surging through, with Hakimi apparently in a different north London postcode. He drives across goal and the big Italian gets down magnificently.

54 mins: Neves wins back possession dangerously high up but Saliba steps in to make a vital challenge.

52 mins: Arsenal hoist another ball into the PSG box. Pacho clears at the second attempt. The visitors haven’t really got going this half.

49 min: NO GOAL, MERINO WAS OFFSIDE! It took a while for the semi-automated technology to sift through Arsenal’s set-piece routine but Merino was fractionally beyond the last man.

47 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Mikel Merino!!!!

Rice curls in the free-kick from the left and Merino nods home. Oh, we’re checking for offside…

Kickoff: 2nd Half

Off we go again. No changes for either side just yet.

Halftime

Arsenal will be happier with how the half ended but PSG deservedly lead and might have been further ahead. They dazzled for the first half hour. The locals are irritated by some perceived fussiness from referee Vincic but if the game becomes fractious and scrappy that might actually play in Arsenal’s favour. See you back here shortly.

45 mins: Martinelli darts onto a nicely weighted Lewis-Skelly pass. Excellent save from Donnarumma. Three added minutes to a half that Arsenal suddenly, maybe, don’t want to end.

42 mins: Saka penalised for a foul on Mendes, who got himself into a mess trying to shepherd the ball out of paly. The England winger boots the ball away and is booked.

41 mins: Raya pumps a free-kick from halfway into the PSG box, Merino wins in and Trossard’s flick is claimed under his crossbar by Donnarumma.

40 mins: Saka pops up on the left, some lovely feet and digs out. across the far post that bissects Donnaumma and a lunging Martinelli. The closest Arsenal have come.

38 mins: Ohhh, my that’s a fine challenge from Neves on Merino inside the PSG box. There was no margin for error. The Arsenal fans briefly thought the referee was pointing to the penalty spot but he was in fact signalling that Neves got the ball.

37 mins: Odegaard with the chance to swing in a free-kick from the left. As always with Arsenal, there’s some delay and theatre. Which is all well and good until Odegaard cracks his delivery at the first man.

35 mins: Doue with an outrageous backheel first touch to bring a crossfield pass under control. However, the youngster then loses his footing trying to beat Timber and the locals respond in the pantomime style.

31 mins: How on earth is that not 2-0?! PSG pulling Arsenal all over the place, Raya makes a stunning reaction save down to his right to deny Doue. Ruiz hits the post with the follow-up but he was offside.

27 mins: Trossard looks to whip one across the six yard box but Donnarumma pouches.

26 mins: Kvaratskhelia again, engineers space for the shot inside the Arsenal box that’s too close to Raya. Timber is in for a long old evening, it seems.

24 mins: He does indeed and Kiwior gets a glancing header on the delivery but that was never troubling Donnarumma.

23 mins: Lewis Skelly with some battling play to come away with the ball. Hakimi brings him down. Arteta and a good chunk of the crowd want a booking. No dice. This is 45 yards out but Odegaard might sling it into the box.

20 mins: Timber brings down Kvaratskhelia in a safer area. No booking but the referee pulls Arsenal skipper Odegaard for a chat. Probably a plea for his team to collectively cool it. Easier said than done when you’re chasing passing around that’s as slick as this.

16 mins: Kvaratskhelia down in the Arsenal box. Nothiog from the referee but the Georgian winger is furious

14 mins: PSG with a corner on the left. Taken short, Doue with some stepovers before crossing. The ball falls to Hakimi, whose shot is blocked. Back it comes and Raya is nicely placed to pouch Marquinhos’ header.

10 mins: Arsenal looking to response with Rice over. a left-wing corner. Merino gets up at the back post but doesn’t make the best contact with his header back across goal. PSG look to break and Trossard brings down Hakimi, becoming the first man into the book. That might be an iffy bar for Mr Vincic to set himself.

4 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Ousmane Dembele!!!!!

PSG have started in assured fashion and have their reward. Kvaratskhelia gets some space on the left and finds Dembele, who shoots into the turf and sees his bouncing shot nestle in the net via the far post.

Available in the US

OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ STUNS THE EMIRATES AFTER JUST 3 MINUTES AND 16 SECONDS 💥😤 pic.twitter.com/jLQXQmMk8B

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 29, 2025

Available in the UK

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 29, 2025

Kickoff: 1st Half

Off we go, PSG into some tidy early possession. Arsenal press ravenously, determined not to let them settle.

1 mins: A pause in the noise just now as those in attendance and the players pay their respects to the late Pope Francis.

5 mins: Here come the teams after the strains of North London Forever. Sort of You’ll Never Walk Alone for the Islington Tik Tok generation. Anyway, the atmosphere is authentically brilliant, including PSG’s always-raucous travelling continent.

20 mins before kickoff: If we focus too much on the midfield, we neglect the dazzling difference makers on the wings. Bukayo Saka was back from an injury lay-off against Madrid and did not miss a beat, giving David Alaba and torrid time in the first leg and atoning for a penalty miss by opening the scoring in the second. Arsenal’s left winger Gabriel Martinelli wrapped up the victory at the Bernabeu. Saka and Martinelli have been established features of Mikel Arteta’s side for some time, while Luis Enrique looks to have captured lightning in a bottle with lavishly gifted January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and teenager Desire Doue.

40 mins before kickoff: The midfield battle will be intriguing tonight. Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha give PSG arguably the most well-balanced central trio in world football right now. Arsenal are unable to combat that with their first-choice trident as Thomas Partey is suspended. It remains to be seen how their shape shakes out in Partey’s absence. Will Mikel Merino or Declan Rice predominantly play in the holding role, or will they share those duties and allow Martin Odegaard to rove as a No. 10?

1 hr 5 mins before kickoff: The big news for PSG is that Luis Enrique has plumped for teen sensation Desire Doue to complete his front three ahead of Bradley Barcola. Quite the enviable coin toss.

⏳🪽#ARSPSG I #UCL pic.twitter.com/KZYcqAV73P

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 29, 2025

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in and it’s a bit of a needs-must XI from Mikel Arteta. Thomas Partey’s suspension means Mikel Merino dropping back into his more natural position in central midfield and Leandro Trossard playing at centre-forward.

🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️

🧱 Saliba at the back
🤝 Merino partners Rice
🪄 Trossard leads the line

Let’s do this – together 👊

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 29, 2025

1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: It’s safe to say there was a sense of Arsenal’s season petering out as Liverpool ran away with the Premier League and they headed into a Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid as underdogs. Then that heady night at the Emirates Stadium happened. The 15-time European champions were ransacked and Declan Rice turned into some sort of wild Roberto Carlos/David Beckham hybrid. In terms of what we’ve seen in the Champions League since the turn of the year, PSG should provided a far sterner, more dynamic test. But after beating Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, no opponent will carry any fear for Mikel Arteta’s men.

2 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain. Neither of these storied clubs have ever won the UEFA Champions League and only one will reach this year’s final.

Arsenal vs. PSG kick off time

The Champions League semifinal, first leg kicks off in London at 8 p.m. local time.

Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Arsenal vs. PSG lineups, team news

Thomas Partey was booked during Arsenal’s 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu and misses this game through suspension.

With Jorginho set to miss the rest of the season through injury, Mikel Merino is likely to be redeployed to his natural position in central midfield.

Leandro Trossard is the favourite to come into the forward line, flanked by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal predicted lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly — Odegaard, Merino, Rice — Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Injured: Merino (knock, doubt), Calafiori (knee), Gabriel (hamstring), Tomiyasu (knee), Jesus (knee), Jorginho (chest)
Suspended: Partey

Luis Enrique has a clean bill of health but might have been given pause for thought by his team’s efforts against Nice.

The big decision revolves around who will join Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the forward line. 

Desire Doue produced a spectacular performance in the first leg of the quarterfinal against Aston Villa, but for a potentially cagey away encounter, Bradley Barcola is the slight favourite to get the nod.

PSG predicted lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Donnarumma (GK) — Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes — Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves — Barcola, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Injured: None
Suspended: None

Arsenal vs. PSG live stream, TV channel

Here’s how to watch this Champions League semifinal, first leg across selected areas of the world’s major regions: