CONOR McGregor got to go onto the Emirates pitch after Arsenal’s win over PSG – and even traded a few passes with Declan Rice.
Rice had played the full 90 minutes as The Gunners bossed a 2-0 victory against the new-look French giants.
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Afterwards he was filmed loitering around the side of the pitch with his teammates – with McGregor making his altogether random cameo a few yards away.
At one point the pair played the ball back and forth as McGregor was seemingly given the run of the stadium’s pristine surface for a kickabout.
It’s an especially head-scratching combination given the Dubliner is well-known to have been a Man United fan growing up before largely losing interest in football in favour of boxing and then MMA.
Paris Saint-Germain are a younger, better-balanced and more serious side these days and boss Luis Enrique had axed Ousmane Dembele from his matchday squad for a disciplinary breach.
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That indicated a change in dressing-room dynamics since the days when egomaniac players ruled the roost at the Parc des Princes.
Early on, they were making it difficult for Arteta’s side, although Bukayo Saka did fire narrowly over after Arsenal’s impressive new full-back Riccardo Calafiori had darted inside to tee him up.
Havertz had just squandered a decent opening, created by Saka and the marauding Jurrien Timber, when he opened the scoring on 20 minutes.
Leandro Trossard supplied a wicked centre from deep on the left and Donnarumma panicked, straying off his line and flapping, as Havertz escaped his marker Pacho and netted with a straightforward header.
Havertz is often referred to as a false nine but the German has many of the attributes of a very actual centre-forward, along with so much else.
For Donnarumma – the keeper who broke English hearts in the 2021 Euros final shoot-out – it had not been a happy start, after he’d already received treatment following a collision with Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal player ratings vs PSG
The French supporters – many of them as topless as Geordies in the chill drizzle – kept on bouncing and hollering, and their team threatened a response.
Nuno Mendes arrowed a shot against the foot of the post, then the lightning quick Achraf Hakimi tore down the right, cut inside and forced David Raya to save with his legs at the near post.
So Arsenal’s second goal was both against the run of play and an absolute fluke – not that any of the Emirates faithful could have cared less.
Saka won a free-kick, by the touchline, then delivered a low inswinger, which Martinelli, Gabriel and Thomas Partey all went for and all missed. But so, too, did Donnarumma.
Perhaps it was all another stroke of genius from Arsenal’s set-piece genius Nico Jover. Or perhaps it was utterly freakish.
After that gift, Saka really began to purr, bringing out the Elvis hips, toasting his full-back and centring for Trossard, only for Donnarumma to suddenly remember that he is an elite goalkeeper.
At half-time, Arteta replaced Timber with Jakub Kiwior and soon his side almost conjured a gem of a third goal – Trossard to Havertz, who chipped a pass to Martinelli, who volleyed too close to Donnarumma.
PSG had their moments – Kang-in Lee shooting into the turf and up onto the crossbar before a decent penalty shout for handball against Calafiori fell on deaf ears.
But usually Arsenal’s back four were there, relishing the dirty work, bumping chests and fists, keeping the sheet clean.
