'Didn't know what day it was' - Alan Shearer rips Arsenal apart for sluggish start to PSG loss but thinks he knows exactly what Gunners need to do to save themselves in Champions League tie

Iconic Premier League striker Shearer didn’t hold back in his assessment of Arsenal’s performance, criticising the team for their lethargic start in their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. The Newcastle legend remarked that the Gunners looked completely lost in the opening stages, saying they "didn't know what day it was." Despite the setback, Shearer believes all is not lost for Mikel Arteta’s side and outlined the key adjustments Arsenal must make to keep their Champions League hopes alive in the return leg.

Although Arsenal gained momentum as the game progressed, it was PSG who took the game by the scruff of its neck. Indeed, a brilliant team move saw a red-hot Ousmane Dembele find the back of the net in just the fourth minute, leaving Arsenal shell-shocked. In the lead-up to the first leg, Arteta's troops were full of belief, and why not? After all, they were heading into the semi-finals on the back of a 5-1 demolition of reigning champions Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. However, Luis Enrique's side brought them down to earth as the Gunners failed to impose their gameplan and struggled to keep up with Les Parisiens' spirited teamplay.

Speaking to Betfair, Shearer opined on Arsenal's dreadful first half performance: "It was an amazing atmosphere at the Emirates before Arsenal's Champions League semi-final first leg against PSG but that changed after three minutes with PSG's goal. When you go to a hostile ground, where you know the atmosphere is going to be amazing for the home team, you want to keep the ball and, if possible, get an early goal just to kill the crowd. PSG did that.

"Arsenal never recovered. For the first 20 or 30 minutes, they didn't know what day it was. Then they recovered and were the better team for ten or 15 minutes before half-time - and they didn't need half-time.

"There were two really, really good chances for Arsenal. One in the first-half with Gabriel Martinelli one-on-one and then a one-on-one in the second half involving Leandro Trossard. Other than that, I know they had the disallowed offside goal which took far too long considering he was half a yard offside. The positive was that it only ended 1-0. It could've been a lot worse.

"At 1-0 going into the second leg, Arsenal still have a chance. What was already a difficult opportunity against a very good side has become a little bit more difficult, but it's not impossible.

Shearer, though, believes that Arsenal are still very much alive in the tie. The Englishman explained what the London outfit needs to do better in the return leg next week: "Arsenal missed Thomas Partey in the first leg against PSG. I'm not sure that Dembele has that amount of space in the first three minutes if Partey is playing. He'll be playing next week which means we'll hopefully see a better Declan Rice because it's not his best role, sitting and trying to sweep up play as a number six.

"Rice is better when he's driving forward and there was one time last night where he was able to drive forward and that was what created the opportunity for [Leandro] Trossard.

"Arsenal's pressing has to be better. For the first half-an-hour in the first leg, they didn't know when to press or sit and it looked really confusing in terms of when and how to go. They didn't get that right and ended up getting picked off. That can improve massively, but they don't have to go for it straight away. If it's still 1-0 at half-time in Paris then that's fine.

"Arsenal just have to be a little bit more patient, go with what happens, keep it tight and don't concede because if they concede the first goal early on then it'll be pretty much curtains for them."

Before they visit Parc des Princes next Wednesday, Arsenal will take on Bournemouth in a Premier League encounter on Saturday, May 3.