Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has warned that the Gunners may need to produce a near-perfect performance if they reach the Champions League final and face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich, whom he described as the two best attacking sides in Europe this season.
Speaking after PSG and Bayern played out a breathtaking nine-goal thriller in the semi-final first leg at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening, Parlour insisted that both teams possess formidable attacking quality that will be difficult for any opponent to handle.
Nine-Goal Classic in Paris
The match saw PSG take a commanding 5-2 lead with half an hour remaining, thanks to a brace from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and goals from Ousmane Dembele, Joao Neves, and Michael Olise. However, Bayern Munich mounted a spirited comeback through Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz, scoring twice in three minutes to reduce the deficit to just one goal ahead of the second leg in Munich.
PSG head coach Luis Enrique described the match as the best he had ever been involved in as a manager. "I have never seen a match with this kind of intensity," he said. "We deserved to win, we deserved to draw, and we deserved to lose today. It was a fantastic match."
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, who was forced to watch from the stands due to a touchline suspension, admitted the experience was less enjoyable. "It's no fun," he said. "If it never happens again, I'll be satisfied."
Parlour's Analysis
Reflecting on the drama for talkSPORT, Parlour singled out Olise and Luis Diaz for special praise. "Olise was different class. Luis Diaz was superb on that left-hand side for Bayern," he said.
Parlour believes both Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, who face each other in the other semi-final, will be wary of the threat posed by PSG and Bayern. "You look at it now and I'm sure Atletico Madrid and Arsenal will be thinking, 'Wait a minute, if we get them in the final then one of us is going to have to be at our best,'" he added.
According to Parlour, PSG will be "kicking themselves" for failing to kill the tie when they led 5-2. "To get 5-2 up, you'd be thinking, 'Come on, let's just try and slow it down a little bit, keep possession,' but credit to Bayern because they just kept going," he said. "Bayern had a couple of chances at the end to get the equaliser as well, but the quality of the game was magnificent."
Two Best Sides in Europe
Parlour, a three-time Premier League winner with Arsenal, argued that while the Premier League may be the best league, PSG and Bayern are the standout attacking teams in this year's Champions League. "As I've said before, we have the best league, there's no doubt about the Premier League. But the two best sides, if you look at those two going forward, it's very hard to deal with the forward, attacking ability that they've both got," he said.
He also praised the fearless approach of both teams, noting that the high-stakes nature of the tie made the spectacle even more impressive. "You always look at the importance of the game because you can get a really top-class game with loads of goals, end-to-end stuff, when you're not playing for anything. But these two teams last night were playing for the final of the Champions League and to put on a show like that... it would have been an amazing game to be in," he added.
Kane's Impact
Parlour also reserved special praise for Bayern and England striker Harry Kane, who scored in the first half. "He was absolutely brilliant. He's that sort of player now, he drops into that No.10 role if he needs to. He has passing ability, he'll always score you a goal. The goals between all three of them at the front has been unbelievable this year for Bayern Munich," he said.
With the second leg in Munich still to come, Parlour expects a tighter contest but believes the tie remains finely balanced. "It'll be interesting to see how tonight's game goes. It'll be 0-0 tonight! It will be a little bit tighter! I can't see it being nine goals tonight," he joked.
