By Lloyd Webb at Stade Georges-Lefevre
Summary
Arsenal kicked off their Uefa Youth League campaign with a hard fought 0-0 draw against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Chris Willock and Donyell Malen had the best chances of a physical first half at Stade Georges-Lefevre, while the hosts came close to snatching the lead through Nanitamo Ikone on two occasions.
Hugo Keto produced a number of fine saves during the second half to keep the game level, while Stephy Mavididi almost put Andries Jonker’s side in front.
Substitutes Vlad Dragomir and Eddie Nketiah breathed a new lease of life into the Gunners late on, but they were unable to find the breakthrough in France.
Setting the scene
In his fourth consecutive Uefa Youth League campaign, Jonker ushered through a new batch of youngsters to take part in the competition.
Last season’s star performers Julio Pleguezuelo and Dan Crowley are out on loan, which meant talented midfielder Josh Dasilva was handed his debut.
Mavididi, flanked by Malen and Willock, formed a fearsome front three, while Keto started in goal.
First half
A physical start set the tone in the sunny countryside of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, but fans had to wait until the 20th minute until a shot was registered when Ikone fired wide.
Willock then burst past marker during an incisive counter-attack, but his attempt – the only shot on target in the first half - lacked venom and was saved by Sebastien Cibios.
The Gunners increased the pressure, and it almost paid off when Willock cut the ball back to Malen, but the forward struck his effort inches wide of the far post.
A finely-balanced first half ended with Mavididi firing over the bar, before Ikone curled a free-kick high and wide of the target.
Second half
The second half followed the same theme, as Willock and Reiss Nelson combined for the latter to hammer the ball over the bar.
The hosts then enjoyed an encouraging spell of possession, which saw Keto called into action with a fine stop to deny Christopher Nkunku’s powerful free-kick.
Keto remained in the thick of the action, and showed good reflexes to tip substitute Timothy Weah’s looping shot over the bar.
Mavididi, who had worked tirelessly to apply pressure to the hosts’ backline, almost had his reward when his near-post effort was palmed away by Cibois.
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