Arsenal vs PSG Bet Builder Tips: Back the fouls in this 14/1 five-fold

Paris Saint-Germain have already beaten two English clubs, Liverpool and Aston Villa, in the knockout stage of the 2024/25 Uefa Champions League, but must face a third, Arsenal, in the semi-finals, the first leg of which takes places at the Emirates Stadium in north London on Tuesday (20:00, Amazon Prime Video).

Read on for my Arsenal vs PSG Bet Builder tips, where I combine five legs for a 14/1 payout.

Declan Rice (ARS) 2+ Shots

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was, arguably, the star of the quarter-finals as he claimed back-to-back Player of the Match awards against Real Madrid, driving his side to a 5-1 aggregate success against the Spanish side.

The 26-year-old scored two free-kicks in the first leg at the Emirates, taking a further three shots against Los Blancos, and he tried his luck once in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, racking up six efforts over the two games to take his shots-per-90 minutes average up to 1.6 in this season's Champions League.

His confidence must be at an all-time high in the competition, having struck three times across his last three European appearances, and he will be someone Arsenal look to for inspiration in front of goal on Tuesday.

PSG's last match on English soil, their 3-2 quarter-final second-leg defeat at Villa Park on April 15, saw Les Parisiens concede 17 shots, three of which went past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans, who, like Rice, can strike accurately from distance, was responsible for four of those 17 efforts, scoring with his second.

Arsenal haven't played since last Wednesday, when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home in the Premier League by Crystal Palace. In that stalemate, Rice recorded a couple of shots, making it the fourth time in his last five outings at the Emirates that he has taken multiple shots.

Football Odds

Achraf Hakimi (PSG) 2+ Shots

PSG's flying right-back, Achraf Hakimi, has enjoyed another stellar season with the capital club, scoring six goals and laying on a further 12 for his teammates.

The 26-year-old has been particularly efficient in Europe, netting twice and registering five assists. His latest strike in the Champions League came in Birmingham earlier this month as he opened the scoring against Villa in the 11th minute, before taking two more shots in the second half.

Hakimi is averaging 2.5 shots per 90 in this season's competition and has let fly at least twice in his last four European outings, although two of his three efforts against Liverpool at Anfield last month were in extra time.

The Morocco international has also taken at least two shots in two of his last three Ligue 1 games, most recently attempting three in Friday's 3-1 home defeat to OGC Nice.

Arsenal's last Champions League game saw them win 3-0 against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, where Los Blancos right-back Lucas Vazquez shot three times before his 61st-minute substitution. Context is key here as the La Liga giants were chasing the tie, but Vazquez was able to get into shooting positions, and on Tuesday, the Gunners will come up against one of the most formidable full-backs in football, one who is never afraid to try his luck.

Hakimi shot twice at the Emirates on October 1 as Arsenal won 2-0 in the league phase, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him take another couple of efforts on his return to the venue.

Achraf Hakimi (PSG) 1+ Fouls

Hakimi also looks like a solid bet to commit at least one foul on Tuesday.

The Real Madrid Academy graduate is averaging 0.9 fouls per 90 in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season, although he did avoid giving away any free-kicks or penalties at the Emirates in October.

However, this time around, he may find things more difficult.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was on the fringes of Arsenal's first team back when PSG last visited north London, only making his European debut in a 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk 21 days later. However, he started his first Premier League and Champions League games in December and hasn't looked back since.

The 18-year-old, now an England international, appears to be Mikel Arteta's number one left-back, especially with injuries troubling Riccardo Calafiori, who hasn't featured since March 12.

Lewis-Skelly has won plenty of admirers with his performances down Arsenal's left-hand side, showing tenacity in the tackle as well as technical excellence on the ball. One element of his game that perhaps gets overlooked, though, is his ability to win fouls. The teenager has been fouled, on average, 2.9 times per 90 in the Premier League and 2.6 times per 90 in the Champions League.

He was upended once by a Real Madrid player, right-winger Rodrygo, in the first leg of Arsenal's quarter-final tie at the Emirates earlier this month, before winning five free-kicks in the Spanish capital, one of which was conceded by the Brazilian, while right-back Vazquez was responsible for a couple (he made three in total).

Like Vazquez, we can expect Hakimi to spend a large portion of his time in Arsenal's half, and that should mean we see the Moroccan come into close contact with Lewis-Skelly, who is so clever at using his body and forcing opponents to make a foul.

Arsenal vs PSG Odds

Nuno Mendes (PSG) 1+ Fouls

Hakimi's teammate and fellow full-back, Nuno Mendes, is also likely to have his work cut out for him on Tuesday.

Like Hakimi, Mendes has enjoyed a superb season going forward, scoring five times and registering six assists, but it's his defensive contribution that has seen him earn the most acclaim.

The 22-year-old was praised for shackling Liverpool star Mohamed Salah over two legs in PSG's last-16 tie, making eight tackles in the first leg at the Parc des Princes and five in the return fixture at Anfield.

However, he did give away a free-kick in the second leg, and the Portugal international is averaging 1.2 fouls per 90 in this season's Champions League (0.7 in Ligue 1).

Mendes made one foul in PSG's quarter-final first leg against Villa and doubled that amount at Villa Park; on Tuesday, he will be up against Bukayo Saka, who was fouled three times in each last-eight leg against Real Madrid, bringing his per 90 season average up to two in the competition (2.2 in the Premier League).

Saka was fouled twice by Les Parisiens in October, and the first offence on him was committed by Mendes in the 16th minute.

Jurrien Timber (ARS) 2+ Fouls

Like Mendes, Arsenal's Jurrien Timber has been brilliant defensively this season, making six tackles across the two legs against Real Madrid.

However, he committed one foul at the Emirates and gave away five free-kicks at the Bernabeu, bringing up his fouls per 90 average in the Champions League to 1.8 (1.2 in the Premier League).

The 23-year-old didn't make a foul when PSG pitched up in north London earlier this season, but he was taken off at half-time in that win for the Gunners, while the French giants have since signed Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is something of a foul magnet.

Kvaratskhelia has been fouled, on average, 2.3 times per 90 in the 2024/25 Champions League (two in Ligue 1), and he was upended three times in both the first and second leg against Villa. All three unfair challenges on him in Paris were made by Matty Cash, operating at right-back for the Villans, and after starting on the right at Villa Park and winning two free-kicks, he later switched sides and was fouled once by Cash.

PSG's wingers can rotate around, meaning we could see any one of Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola on the left up against Arsenal right-back Timber, but it's the mid-season arrival from Napoli who I expect to spend most of the time out on that wing.

Four of Timber's fouls at the Bernabeu were on Real Madrid left-winger, Vinicius Jr., so that should bode well for backing the Dutchman to concede a couple on Tuesday.

Offers

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on Arsenal v PSG and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Barcelona v Inter. (Credited upon Bet Settlement).

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