Arsenal live Q&A: James McNicholas answers your post-PSG questions
April 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM EDT
And so to Paris we go after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
There was a bluntness in Arsenal's performance, partly down to PSG's impressive midfield, while Ousmane Dembele and Gianluigi Donnarumma put in game-changing displays.
But the difference is still only one goal. What should Mikel Arteta do for the second leg next week to make a difference?
It is away at Parc des Princes next Wednesday and before then, there is a match in the Premier League (remember that?) against Bournemouth on Saturday.
There is also, as always, transfers and contracts to discuss as new sporting director Andrea Berta settles into his new role before a big summer.
Get your questions in now and and James McNicholas will be with you between 2pm and 3pm BST (9am to 10am ET) to answer as many as he can.
James McNicholas April 30, 2025 6:30 am EDT
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PSG's historic moment should provoke serious questions over football's future
Qatar finally win the Champions League. It should be an absurd sentence, but then this was a farce of a sporting contest. It was barely a football match, but an exhibition of superior power – in multiple senses. Paris Saint-Germain destroyed Internazionale 5-0, in what was factually and tonally the most one-sided final in history. No one, not even the great Real Madrid of 1960, had previously won by five goals before. Advertisement PSG consequently become the second club owned by a foreign state to have won the Champions League, with Inter having endured the misfortune of being beaten in both finals. If the squad felt pain after losing to Manchester City 1-0 in 2023, given they felt they should have won, there was only embarrassment here. Inter are embarrassed in the Champions League final (Getty) This isn't to overly rebuke Inter, even if Simone Inzaghi got a lot wrong. The differences in the teams meant Inter again had to be pretty much perfect to have any kind of chance. 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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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Is PSG v Atletico Madrid on TV? How to watch Club World Cup clash for free
The Club World Cup continues tonight with a mouth-watering clash between newly-crowned Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid. The tournament kicked off yesterday as Lionel Messi's Inter Miami played out an entertaining 0-0 draw with Egyptian side Al Ahly. Advertisement However, all the favourites come from Europe with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Chelsea among those ready to battle it out for the new trophy not to mention the small matter of the £100m in prize money going to the winners. Watch every Fifa Club World Cup game free on DAZN. Sign up here now PSG are right towards the top of the list of expected winners after sealing the first Champions League trophy in the club's history by thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final at the end of last month. However, long-serving Atletico manager Diego Simeone always has his side ready for a battle and the Spaniards will fancy a deep run in the revamped competition themselves. 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San Francisco Chronicle
37 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Gattuso named Italy coach as the Azzurri aim to avoid missing out on a third straight World Cup
FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Former hard-tackling midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was named Italy coach on Sunday, tasked with reviving the country's already-flagging World Cup qualifying hopes. Gattuso replaces Luciano Spalletti, who was fired last week after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 at Norway to spark fears that the four-time champion will fail to qualify for a third straight World Cup. Gattuso lifted one of those World Cups as a player, in 2006. "Gattuso is a symbol of Italian soccer, the blue shirt is like a second skin for him," Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina said. "His motivation, his professionalism and his experience will be fundamental to best face the national team's next matches. 'Aware of the importance of the objective we want to achieve, I thank him for the willingness and total dedication with which he accepted this challenge.' Claudio Ranieri was the Italian soccer federation's top choice to replace Spalletti but he turned down the offer. Gattuso's last coaching job was at Hajduk Split but he left the Croatian club by mutual consent at the start of the month after just one season in charge. The 47-year-old had previously coached AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia and Marseille, among others. As a player, Gattuso also won two league titles and two Champions League trophies with Milan, where he made 468 appearances and scored 11 goals. His only goal in 73 appearances for Italy was a fierce 25-meter strike against England in a 1-0 win in November 2000. Gattuso's only trophy as a coach was the Italian Cup with Napoli in 2010. Italy is already nine points behind Norway in its World Cup qualifying group, albeit having played two matches fewer than the group leader. The Azzurri followed up its dismal opening loss with a 2-0 win over minnow Moldova last Monday in what was Spalletti's final match in charge. He had revealed that he was being fired the previous day. Gattuso's first match as Italy coach will be at home to Estonia on Sept. 5. Israel is also in five-team Group I. Italy hosts Norway in the final round on Nov. 16. Only the group winner advances directly to the 2026 tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The runner-up enters playoff brackets to be played next March. That was the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.
