William Gallas reveals why Arsenal can be confident of beating 'flaky' PSG as they bid to reach first Champions League final since 2006

Former Arsenal defender Gallas has claimed the Champions League semi-final tie with Paris Saint-Germain could go either way but highlighted the French champions' scare against Aston Villa in the last round as a key reason for the Gunners to be confident ahead of kick-off.

PSG were forced to dig deep in the quarter-finals in the face of a raucous Villa Park, letting a 5-1 aggregate lead slip to 5-4 before eventually seeing out the tie, and Gallas believes the club's penchant for making things difficult for themselves could be a telling factor against a more efficient and ruthless Arsenal team.

Gallas told Prime Casino: "Barcelona have looked very strong from the beginning of the season, and they’re in the last four of the Champions League. Barcelona are my favourites to win it, but at this stage of the competition, it's almost 50-50. Anyone can win it. That’s why Arsenal against PSG will also be 50-50.

"With PSG, even if they play very well, they’re missing a certain something. When we saw them against Aston Villa in the last match, they were hanging on and it told me that this is still a team that has flaws. Maybe PSG miss experienced players, but they’re a good team. They're playing great football, and we know it's a different PSG.

"They've got rid of the superstars, but they still have some brilliant players. But there's doubts. There's still a little doubt. They're a bit flaky, like when Aston Villa started banging in the goals against them in the last round. I thought to myself, we've seen this before. I thought PSG were different. So that's why it will be a little bit different with Arsenal, because Arsenal are stronger than Aston Villa. If Arsenal score first, it could be a great night for the Gunners."

Having previously developed a reputation for being soft in decisive moments, PSG have now reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in four of the last six seasons. However, they have made the final just once, when they were beaten by Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 edition of the tournament.

PSG will be hoping to record a different result on Tuesday night than whey they visited Arsenal in the league phase back in October. Les Parisiens were beaten 2-0 but have improved vastly since then, comfortably wrapping up the Ligue 1 title, and the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will be keen to take an advantage back to Parc des Princes for the return leg in early May.