PSG's Champions League improvement epitomised by shooting star Ousmane Dembele

Ousmane Dembele was not part of the Paris St-Germain team beaten 2-0 by Arsenal on October 1 but the forward could play a leading role in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg in north London.

A dispute with coach Luis Enrique meant Dembele was dropped for the league-phase clash with the Gunners and that decision is proving to be an inspired piece of man-management.

Dembele, like PSG as a whole, had a frustrating start to the Champions League campaign, failing to score with any of his 21 shots against Girona, PSV, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Ousmane Dembele's 2024-25 Champions League away record

*Dembele sent off in 56th minute v Bayern

He was sent off in the 56th minute of the matchday-five defeat to Bayern but returned to European action with a dazzling display as a second-half substitute against Manchester City in January.

Dembele scored, hit the crossbar and had an effort disallowed for offside in the vital 4-2 victory over City before securing PSG's place in the playoff round with a hat-trick in Stuttgart.

He notched twice in the playoff rout of Brest, had eight shots in the luckless 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in Paris before scoring the only goal of the return leg at Anfield and converting his penalty in the shootout.

Dembele's transformation from mercurial winger to prolific frontman is illustrated by his Ligue 1 stats over the past two seasons: in 2023-24, he scored only three goals in 1,506 minutes but this term he has struck 21 times in 1,657 minutes. 

Ousmane Dembele's 2024-25 Champions League away record

The 27-year-old has contributed 28 goals and nine assists in just 30 starts and ten substitute appearances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, relishing a more central role after Kylian Mbappe's departure to Real Madrid.

Arsenal fans may be encouraged by the fact that Dembele's only goals in his last seven appearances came against second-tier Dunkerque – and by the way the Gunners nullified Mbappe's threat in the quarter-finals.

The Real star had three shots at the Emirates Stadium, one off target and two comfortably saved by David Raya, and he failed to test the Gunners keeper in the second leg.

Real's only goal in the tie stemmed from a rare William Saliba error and, having kept Mbappe quiet, the Arsenal centre-back is aiming to subdue Dembele, another of his France teammates, in the semis.

Read more . . .

Arsenal vs Paris St-Germain predictions, betting tips and odds: PSG pose formidable test for Gunners 

Football accumulator tips for Tuesday April 29: Back our acca at 11-1 with bet365 

Newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool 15-8 favourites to retain title in 2025-26 

Five key moments from Liverpool's 2024-25 campaign as Reds aim to seal Premier League title 

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.