Arsenal star who won every single duel dominated vs PSG

After coming away with just a point from their Champions League opener against Atalanta last month, there was a feeling that Arsenal had to go a step further and claim all three at home to Paris Saint-Gerrmain last night.

Not only did Mikel Arteta’s men do precisely that, but they did so with relative ease, and despite potentially having less of the ball than they would have ideally liked in the second half, they looked comfortably superior to the French champions all game.

There were plenty of excellent performances from the Spaniard’s side, but two stood out: Kai Havertz and one of his more experienced teammates, who put in what might have been his best display of the season so far.

Havertz performance vs PSG

Arteta opted for an unchanged XI last night, which meant that Havertz made his seventh start of the season, and as he has done in practically every one of those games, he put in an excellent performance at the sharp end of the pitch.

The former Chelsea ace was a constant thorn in the Parisian’s side throughout the game and opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a perfectly timed run and header into the bottom corner.

The German could, and probably should, have picked up an assist in the second half as well, but Gabriell Martinelli got on the end of his perfectly weighted pass and rifled the ball straight down Gianluigi Donnarumma’s throat.

It was an almost faultless display from the Gunners’ number 29, and while that might sound hyperbolic, it’s an opinion shared by the Sun’s Jordan Davies, who awarded him a 9/10 on the night, writing that he was ‘brave and brilliant’ for his first goal and is now a ‘top-class centre-forward.’

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On top of all of that, Havertz also produced some brilliant individual statistics on the night. In his 94 minutes of football, he took two shots on target, scored one goal from an expected goals figure of 0.30, produced an expected assists figure of 0.17, took 48 touches, was successful in 100% of his duels, played one key pass, won four of seven aerial duels, and even made one interception and three tackles.

Overall, the 25-year-old was easily one of Arsenal’s best players last night, but one of his older teammates deserves just as much praise.

Thomas Partey’s performance vs PSG

Yes, the more experienced teammate in question is Ghanaian international Thomas Partey, who has rolled back the years so far this season, although last night may well be his best performance so far in 24/25.

The 31-year-old was tasked with starting his eighth game of the season against the French giants, but right up until he was taken off in the 64th minute, he looked ready and raring for the midfield battle, which, alongside his teammates, he bossed.

In fact, respected analyst Ben Mattinson was so impressed with the former Atlético Madrid ace that he described it as one of his “best games this season.”

Likewise, Davies, who awarded him an 8/10 on the night, wrote that he ‘made some crucial interceptions and showed real composure playing out from deep.’

Unsurprisingly, then, the Odumase Krobo-born maestro also produced some stellar statistics on the night. In his 64 minutes of action, he took 34 touches, maintained a passing accuracy of 93%, won 100% of his duels, lost the ball just twice, made three interceptions, wasn’t dribbled past even once, and made one tackle.

Ultimately, Havertz continued to show why he is the striker to take Arsenal forward last night, and at the same time, Partey reminded everyone that he is still an incredibly gifted footballer who could once again become an integral cog in the Gunners’ midfield if he can remain fit this season.