Paris St Germain took a big step towards reaching the Champions League final as Ousmane Dembele's early goal sealed a 1-0 win at Arsenal in a tense first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday.

Luis Enrique was a senior star at Barcelona when Arteta started his playing career at the Camp Nou, a period that had a major impact on his managerial philosophy with Arsenal.

Paris Saint-Germain saw their unbeaten record in Ligue 1 this season finally ended in a 3-1 home defeat against Nice on Friday, just ahead of their Champions League semifinal showdown against Arsenal.

Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw at Nantes in a rearranged Ligue 1 game on Tuesday, a result which maintains their unbeaten domestic record this season with the Champions League semifinal against Arsenal on the horizon.

The French side, who have never won Europe's elite club competition, will face either Arsenal or Real Madrid in their second semi-final in two years.

 Paris St Germain kept alive their dream of a first Champions League title on Tuesday by squeezing past Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate after a thrilling second leg of their quarter-final which the English side won 3-2.

Unai Emery says his players can feed off the energy of their fans as Aston Villa seek to overturn a 3-1 deficit in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

Aston Villa must make home advantage count and draw energy from their supporters in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris St Germain at Villa Park on Tuesday, manager Unai Emery said.

The Argentine international, dubbed a 'specialist in provocation' by French sports daily L'Equipe, was seen wearing a hat that celebrated the Albicelestes' success while covering up a French cockerel emblem on Tuesday.

Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead at the Parc des Princes, but the French champions levelled through Doue before half-time. Kvaratskhelia put PSG ahead early in the second half and Mendes added a late third.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has attempted to provoke Paris Saint-Germain supporters with a baseball cap poking fun at France's defeat by Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final as he arrived for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final.

Marcus Rashford returns to Paris Saint-Germain with Aston Villa on Wednesday seeking a hat-trick of wins at the home of the French champions while Marco Asensio can hurt his parent club.

For a long time Paris Saint-Germain were a collection of superstars, but now under Luis Enrique they are a team with a clear identity and appear stronger as a result of the job done by their Spanish coach.

Paris St Germain remained unbeaten as they won their fourth straight Ligue 1 title in style on home turf after Saturday's 1-0 win over Angers gave Luis Enrique's side an unassailable lead in the French top-flight.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said Friday the prospect of completing the Ligue 1 season undefeated provided extra motivation for his team as they stand on the brink of securing another French title.

PSG play host to relegation-threatened Angers on Saturday knowing a draw will be enough for them to secure their 11th French championship triumph in the last 13 years.

Coach Luis Enrique said Paris Saint-Germain "can feel like champions" knowing they could seal the Ligue 1 title this weekend but warned his players not to let their level drop.

Captain Kylian Mbappe returned to the France squad named Thursday for this month's UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, as Paris Saint-Germain teenager Desire Doue earned a first call-up.

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique said both his team and Liverpool deserved a berth in the Champions League quarter-finals, such was the terrific, nail-biting battle between the two sides in the competition's last-16.

Paris Saint-Germain progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday after beating Liverpool 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out to win an epic last-16 tie between the clubs.