Arsenal handed major blow ahead of Paris Saint-Germain semi-final as UEFA rule hands Mikel Arteta conundrum

Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2008-09 as they claimed a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday night to book their spot in the last four. The victory in Spain meant the Gunners ended the tie with a commanding 5-1 aggregate victory after a stunning 3-0 triumph in the first leg in North London.

Supporters only need to wait 12 days before more Champions League action as they host Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium on April 29. They head to Paris for the second leg on May 7.

Barcelona and Inter Milan will compete in the other semi-final with three of the four sides who finished in the top four of the league phase reaching the semi-finals. The only expection is Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Liverpool, who were knocked out on penalties by PSG in the round of 16.

Arsenal handed suspension blow for semi-final first leg

Thomas Partey will miss the first leg against PSG after being booked in the closing stages of the 2-1 victory in Madrid. The midfielder was one of four Arsenal players at risk of missing the first leg of the semi-final after picking up two yellow cards.

UEFA suspension rules dictate that any players who pick up three yellow cards between the first league phase match and the second leg of a quarter final will be handed a one-game ban. Players are banned for a further game for any subsequent odd-numbered bookings, so once they hit fifth or seventh cautions and so on.

Partey was booked on both matches against Real Madrid, which has resulted in his one-game ban against PSG later this month. Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Martinelli were all on two cautions heading into the quarter-final but the trio avoided being booked in both fixtures against Madrid. Rice was booked on Wednesday night for an apparent foul on Kylian Mbappe which resulted in a penalty. However, a lengthy VAR check overturned that decision with Rice’s caution rescinded.

Thomas Partey suspension hands Mikel Arteta conundrum amid Jorginho injury

Partey’s suspension leaves Mikel Arteta with a bit of a conundrum to solve as his potential replacement is facing the possibility of being injured. Fellow midfielder Jorginho was withdrawn against Brentford at the weekend.

Arteta’s comments after the game appeared to point to a possibly serious injury. He said on Saturday: "He said he could not breathe properly, so it could be an issue with one of the ribs. It's strange because if he can't carry on, that means that that is something significant, I think."

If Jorginho is not fit for the first leg against PSG, it could see Mikel Merino drop back into midfield but then that would leave Arteta without a recognised centre-forward. Myles Lewis-Skelly could be moved into his more natural position of midfield. Arteta would be able to fill his role at left-back more easily as Kieran Tierney or Oleksandr Zinchenko could be deployed at left-back, which would allow Merino to remain in the centre-forward slot.

Declan Rice will no doubt be the first name on the teamsheet for the games against PSG after his stunning displays against Madrid.