Arsene Wenger’s side fell behind in the first half after Petr Cech’s own goal before Laurent Koscielny netted an overheard kick.
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A regular visitor to the French capital, the Strasbourg-born Wenger has often been linked in the past with an executive role at PSG when he finally leaves Arsenal, the club he joined in 1996.
“Because I love where I am”, said Wenger. Wenger was resting the two after the worldwide break to save them for their Champions League opener against PSG on Tuesday in what will be a tough match.
The difference in recent years, however, is that the Frenchman has opted to stay at Arsenal even though many fans have become far more skeptical about his ability to lead the club to another Premier League title or a first Champions League. “And that is why”. He said how much he was looking forward to a match against the reigning French champions at the Parc des Princes. “Once again I appreciate the love”. They’re a team who are, in France, the team above everyone else.
“We have gone out against top sides, who went on and won the Champions League after”, said Wenger after last year’s elimination, which came at the hands of Barcelona for the third time in seven years.
“I think it’s a good point but we came here with our ambition and we wanted to have the three points, but when we start like this it’s hard to play”, Koscielny said. “There is no symbolism to it, no symbolic meaning to this match”.
It was the balmiest of early-May evenings in 2009 and the Emirates Stadium was a cacophonous sea of vibrant, expectant red and white for the visit of Manchester United in a Champions League semifinal, second leg. I’m delighted to be playing Arsenal.
First, Arsene Wenger named a different squad than usual, including two new signings – German center back Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish striker Lucas Perez – both debutants to the Premier League.
Improvements Needed To Win Group Stage? I think our reaction [to going behind against Southampton] was very good.
“The squad is between (age) 24 and 30, basically”, Wenger said. “That’s where you have a good combination of physical strength and experience”.
Marco Verratti has revealed Paris Saint-Germain’s primary objective is to improve in the Champions League.
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“We had a little bit of a slow start, after 20 minutes we were 1-0 down, so we came back well into the game and we had a good response”, Wenger said.
