
Arsenal's set piece shenanigans are the talk of the football town again but Luis Enrique didn't win the Champions League without being streetwise too.
PSG will play the Gunners in the Champions League final at the end of the month after seeing off Bayern Munich in a blockbuster semi-final tie.
Arsenal were predictably more pragmatic in their semi-final win over Atletico Madrid but will represent a formidable foe for the Parisians when they meet in Budapest on May 30.
The Gunners kept their Premier League title chase on track by beating West Ham United on Sunday and now hold a significant advantage over Manchester City as the season comes to its conclusion.
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There was a close call for Mikel Arteta's team at the end of that match. Callum Wilson's equaliser for the Hammers was ruled out after a VAR review had scrutinised a foul on Gunners goalkeeper David Raya by Pablo. Arsenal won 1-0 and moved five points clear at the top.
A typically ferocious debate followed, with partisan voices shouting over one another to argue that whichever outcome benefited their team would have been the right one.
On talkSPORT, the Arsenal punditocracy was taken to task by former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan.
"That's where you let yourself down!" he told ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown.
At the heart of the overwhelmingly bad-faith discussion, the most obvious of truths: Arsenal block goalkeepers and foul defenders at set pieces too. Everyone does.
In fact, they're really quite good at it. That might rub some opponents and observers up the wrong way but it's a problem for Luis Enrique and PSG as they prepare for European football's annual showpiece at Puskas Arena in two and a half weeks.
PSG prepare for Arsenal's dark arts
Footage has emerged from Paris, where Ligue 1 champions PSG have all but won the league title again and can have their full attentions on following their historic 2024-25 treble with a 2025-26 double.
With Arsenal standing in their way, probably literally, PSG have apparently been working goalkeeper Matvey Safonov under the physical attentions of a tackle bag.
RMC Sport reports: "During Tuesday's training session... the PSG goalkeepers carried out a workshop to work on an area that should be key in the upcoming clash against Arsenal: defensive set pieces.
"Safonov and other substitute goalkeepers took turns trying to catch aerial balls close to their line, while being heckled by their teammates."
Arsenal have scored 20 goals from corners and free kicks in all competitions this season.
PSG will be studying every one of them in between jostling sessions on the grass.
Topics: Arsenal, PSG, Premier League, Champions League