Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi were on target as Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 2-1 to punch their ticket to the Champions League final courtesy of a 3-1 aggregate victory.
2024/2025 UEFA Champions League
2-1
Match Report
Spain ace Fabian broke the deadlock in the first half and Hakimi's well-taken effort with a little under 20 minutes remaining took the tie away from Arsenal.
PSG, who also saw Vitinha squander a contentiously awarded penalty, had a few late nerves when Bukayo Saka reduced the arrears then missed a golden chance shortly after.
But ultimately, Luis Enrique's men were the ones celebrating, and they can now turn their attentions to the Munich showpiece against Inter on May 31.
Parisians, you are in the final of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE! #PSGARS I #UCL pic.twitter.com/5seXYzET6W
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 7, 2025
A series of Gianluigi Donnarumma saves kept Arsenal at bay in the early exchanges. Declan Rice had already nodded wastefully wide from six yards by the time the Italy goalkeeper denied Gabriel Martinell and forced a fierce strike from Martin Odegaard around the post.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, though, struck the woodwork with a sensationally curled attempt as PSG offered a reminder of the threat they carry, even without Ousmane Dembele, who started on the bench.
And for all Arsenal's early pressure, PSG made the breakthrough when Fabian latched onto a poor Thomas Partey clearance, evaded Martinelli and saw a left-footed strike deflect in wickedly off William Saliba.
Donnarumma tipped Saka's goal-bound corner over the top before then denying the England ace's exquisite bending effort from the right of the area, as Arsenal pushed for a leveller.
Treble-chasing PSG were gifted a chance to make it 2-0 when Myles Lewis-Skelly was harshly judged to have handled Hakimi's shot in the area after referee Felix Zwayer visited the VAR monitor, but Raya saved Vitinha's weak spot-kick low to his left.
But Hakimi brilliantly bent into the bottom-right corner after a series of Arsenal mishaps in their own penalty area to extend their aggregate lead.
Saka finished from Leandro Trossard's centre at the second attempt and then woefully blazed over from inside the six-yard box as Arsenal fell short.
4 - Arsenal have now failed to progress from each of their last four major cup semi-finals (2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 League Cup, 2024-25 League Cup, 2024-25 Champions League) - their longest ever run at this stage of competitions. Stumbling. pic.twitter.com/jBpigx4MKI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 7, 2025
Data Debrief: Fabian off the Champions League mark
This fixture marked Fabian's 46th Champions League appearance but, somewhat surprisingly, the Spain international registered his first goal in Europe's premier competition.
He consequently became the first Spanish player to net his first Champions League goal at the semi-final stage, while he is the 12th different player to score for PSG in the competition this season.
Kvaratskhelia was desperately unlucky not to open the scoring himself when he struck the post prior to the opening goal and that was the 10th time PSG hit the woodwork in the Champions League this season – the joint-most of any club in the competition.
Moreover, it was the 36th time across all competitions they have done so, with only Barcelona (37) doing so more across Europe's big-five leagues.
Arsenal missed out on reaching the final in a game that represented their 100th away fixture in the Champions League, with the Gunners becoming the seventh side to hit that milestone.
Saka's goal offered them hope. It was his sixth in the competition this season, the most in a single edition by a Gunners player, beating Olivier Giroud's five in 2016. Additionally, he has now scored 10 goals in 18 appearances in the Champions League – the only Englishman to reach double figures in fewer games in the competition is Harry Kane (12th game).
But that big miss from Saka late on saw Arsenal fail to set up a grandstand finale, despite registering 3.14 expected goals to PSG's 1.74.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
3' What a chance! Timber plays a great ball and Rice nods a header just wide
4' Partey sends a long through into the box and Martinelli fires a shot saved
7' GREAT SAVE! Odegaard hammers a shot at goal but Donnarumma saves brilliantly!
8' Donnarumma is hurt from that save and now is back on his feet
17' CLOSE! Kvaratskhelia curls a brilliant effort onto the far post
18' First yellow card of the night and it goes to Mendes who stands on Timber's foot
22' Doué opens up space from Saliba but his shot lacks power to trouble Raya
27' GOAL! Fabián volleys the ball into the back of net! PSG 1-0 Arsenal (agg 2-0)
28' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
30' Barcola does well to evade one defender but his low effort is saved by Raya
32' Rice nods the ball inside the box for Merino, who hooks a difficult chance wide
40' Lewis-Skelly is caught in possession outside the box and Doué's pass is cleared
44' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
49' Big cheers from the home fans as Dembélé comes out to warm up
50' There's a slight break in play as Saka is down injured, but he is OK
54' Doué tries to guide the ball into the far corner but his accuracy is way off
55' Lewis-Skelly goes into book after he tangled with Bradley Barcola
56' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
58' The ball is whipped in well by Saka and Donnarumma has to punch behind
62' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
63' Saka cuts inside and bends a brilliant shot but Donnarumma gets a hand to it
65' Hakimi's effort takes a slight deflection but Raya has it covered at near post
69' Vitinha's penalty is saved by Raya after Lewis-Skelly handballed Hakimi's shot
70' Dembélé replaces Barcola and Calafiori and Trossard come on for Arsenal
70' Match Event for PSG vs Arsenal
72' GOAL! Hakimi with superb finish almost kills the game! PSG 2-0 Arsenal (agg 3-0)
73' PSG make another change as Lucas Hernández is on for Désiré Doué
76' GOAL! Saka pulls one back after a counter-attack! PSG 2-1 Arsenal (agg 3-1)
79' How can Saka miss that?! He fires it over the bar from Calafiori's cross
82' Raya does well to keep out Dembélé's first-time effort from the edge of the box
82' Highlight from PSG vs Arsenal
83' Arsenal make another change as Ben White comes on for Jurriën Timber
86' Both Calafiori and Kvaratskhelia see yellow after a conflict
Line-ups
PSG XI: Marquinhos, Fabian Ruiz, Donnarumma, Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Barcola, Doue, João Neves
Subs: Lucas, Dembele, Safonov, Arnau Tenas, Kang-in Lee, Gonçalo Ramos, Beraldo, Zaire-Emery, Mayulu, Mbaye, Axel Tape
Arsenal XI: Partey, David Raya, Ødegaard, Merino, Rice, Martinelli, Saliba, Saka, Kiwior, Timber, Lewis-Skelly
Subs: Neto, Trossard, Sterling, Jorginho, Zinchenko, Tierney, Ben White, Calafiori, N. Butler-Oyedeji, Jack Henry-Francis, Tommy Setford, Nwaneri