Arsene Wenger sits alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer in rare return to the Emirates... but the smiles don't last long as Arsenal are beaten by early PSG goal
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- Arsene Wenger managed 1,234 seasons for Arsenal during an illustrious career
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Arsenal's legendary former manager Arsene Wenger made a rare appearance to the Emirates Stadium to support his old club during their Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Wenger, who managed 1,234 matches for the club, was filmed arriving at the ground he helped mould ahead of kick-off on Tuesday evening.
The Frenchman, 75, arrived to north London venue with his daughter Lea, 28.
The legendary Gunners boss was then photographed enjoying a chat with Prime Minister - and lifelong Arsenal fan - Sir Keir Starmer as the pair found their seats.
Wenger has barely been at the Emirates since leaving the club in 2018 after almost 22 years at the helm, but he amended that on Tuesday by showing his support.
His appearance was welcomed by current Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who Wenger signed as a player.
Speaking on Amazon Prime ahead of kick-off, Arteta said: 'He's [Arsene Wenger] going to be up there.
'If we are here, if I am here, if a lot of us are here, it's because of him. Hopefully, we can give him something back.'
However, the presence of Wenger was unable to lift the current crop of players as they succumbed to a 1-0 first-leg loss thanks to Ousmane Dembele's early goal - with the frustration of the result evident on Starmer's face as the game wore on.
Dembele opened the scoring in the fourth minute after he was left all alone in the Arsenal area and was picked out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a first-time finish that snuck in via the far post.
PSG had lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the league phase in October but showed no hesitation in taking the game to Arsenal from the start. Instead, it was the hosts who looked affected by the moment in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009 - despite having beaten Real Madrid 3-0 at home in the quarter-finals.
They couldn't cope with PSG's pace in transition and the visitors' lead easily could have been bigger after a dominant first half.
Mikel Merino thought he had equalised shortly after the break when he headed in a free-kick from Declan Rice, but it was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
PSG substitutes Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos both had chances to double the lead late on when clear through on goal. But Barcola shot narrowly wide and Ramos rattled the crossbar to keep Arsenal close going into the second leg in Paris next week - with both teams seeking to win the competition for the first time in their history.
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