“I’ve never played against such dangerously aggressive player in my whole professional career, We lose but to be honest he was the Man of the Match… It’s unfortunate Arteta doesn’t know how to use him”: PSG superstar Hakimi has named Arsenal new signing as the best player he has ever faced

I’ve never faced a more aggressive player in my professional career. Although we lost, he was the man of the match. Unfortunately, Arteta does not know how to employ him. PSG great Hakimi has hailed Arsenal’s latest acquisition as the finest player he has ever faced.

Arsenal won their first Champions League match of the 2024/25 season on Tuesday night, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at the Emirates.

The damp Emirates turf glistened beneath the lights, with eager home fans enjoying their first European night since Bayern Munich arrived in April. A sodden surface allowed for smooth possession play from both teams, but Arsenal’s physical dominance against a small PSG quickly became apparent.

An equal contest was broken up by a vicious Leandro Trossard, who was jumped on by the ghostly Kai Havertz, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to the ball and headed home Arsenal’s goal. Donnarumma, whose reputation has dwindled since his Euro 2020 heroics, was then at fault for Arsenal’s second goal, allowing Bukayo Saka’s ball from the right to beat him after going through a sea of people at the near post.

Arsenal had been confined to moments in the final third, but they’d done a good job of suffocating the technically gifted visitors with a flexible possession-free strategy. The Gunners dominated duels, and their intensity subdued PSG’s superb frontline, who lacked a superstar.

Mikel Merino made his second-half introduction, and there was a sense that the visitors were gaining momentum after the hour, with Arsenal content to maintain their advantage. The Gunners threatened on the break and were repeatedly denied by Donnarumma, but the bar also kept Joao Neves from dragging PSG back into the game.

The French champions quickly ran out of steam, and while Arsenal struggled to find an opportunity that would have guaranteed their triumph, they had little issue seeing the game out in its final act.

Here are Arsenal’s player ratings following their 2-0 victory over PSG.

Goalkeepers & Defenders
David Raya (GK): 6.5/10 – Raya kept another clean sheet, albeit he was not pressed upon to repeat his Bergamo heroics in this one. He just made a couple stops, cleverly rejecting Achraf Hakimi and Lee Kang on each side of halftime.

Jurrien Timber (RB): 7.5/10 – The Dutchman was on track to win my Man of the Match award, but he was replaced at halftime. Let’s hope there are no injuries. Timber excelled in the opening half against the in-form Bradley Barcola.

William Saliba (CB) – 8.5/10 – Saliba was put to the test later in the game, but the French defender handled everything PSG threw at him. The front-post clearing to deny Randal Kolo Muani was particularly excellent.

Gabriel (CB) – 8/10 – Gabriel had a handful of noteworthy defensive moments that the fans enjoyed. Arsenal’s deeper block allowed them to stop shots at will.

Riccardo Calafiori (LB): 6/10 – The Italian only has to control his aggressiveness a little. There’s a player in there, but the best will have their way with him. PSG did get behind him once or twice, but Calafiori also produced some outstanding defensive movements.