Saliba praises Dembele’s unpredictability ahead of PSG–Arsenal return leg

Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has identified Ousmane Dembele as Paris Saint-Germain’s most dangerous threat ahead of the Champions League semi-final return leg in Paris.

Speaking after Arsenal’s 1–0 first-leg loss at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, Saliba said Dembele’s movement made him particularly hard to contain.

“We are a little disappointed to have lost and to have conceded a goal very early on,” Saliba told Canal Plus. “We made up for it a little after that, but we suffered a lot in the first 20 minutes. We played better in the second half.”

He added, “The tie is not over. We hope to win at the Parc des Princes. We were not surprised by PSG; we knew they were a strong team. We got eaten a little at the start, we played badly. We must not give up, a lot of things can happen.

“Dembele is everywhere, he is moving around a lot. It’s difficult to mark him. We can do better with the first goal. We will take the positives and go beat them there. We will have to show that we have character.”

Dembele scored the only goal of the first leg, but there are concerns over his availability for the second match after he reportedly picked up a minor hamstring strain.