Gigi Donnarumma at Arsenal vs. Paris St. Germain: King of England

The coach ultimately gave Gianluigi Donnarumma a mere pat on the back for his performance. "That's the job of goalkeepers, right? They save the team – that's what they work for every day," said Luis Enrique after Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 win at Arsenal. "In a semifinal, every player has to perform at a high level."

But everyone at PSG knew that this important victory in London was primarily due to the 26-year-old Italian goalkeeper. Teammate Vitinha gave Donnarumma the trophy for the match's Most Valuable Player for the photo. And the French sports paper "L'Équipe" even crowned Donnarumma, who had previously shone in the Champions League matches against Liverpool (round of 16) and Aston Villa (quarter-finals), "Gigio III, King of England."

Yet it wasn't long ago that the headlines about him read differently. "Donnarumma, what a disgrace," was the cry after the Nations League quarterfinal second leg between Italy and Germany.

Instead of preventing Jamal Musiala's goal that temporarily put Germany 2-0 up in the Nations League, Donnarumma left his goal to complain to the referee. He was sure to become the laughingstock of the football world.

With his two magnificent saves in London against Arsenal, Donnarumma more than kept the longing for the French capital's first trophy alive. "Closer to the stars," wrote L'Équipe on its front page, alongside a photo of the kneeling, beaming goalscorer Ousmane Dembélé. He had already scored in the fourth minute.

The fact that the former Bundesliga pro had to leave injured in the 70th minute and immediately disappeared into the locker room with the medical staff initially caused concern. There was some uncertainty about the return match next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes in Paris, said Luis Enrique. However, it was nothing serious. Dembélé also reassured the crowd: "It's okay. I felt something, but it's OK."

But it wasn't just the question of how fit Dembélé would be for the second leg that was on Nasser Al-Khelaifi's mind. As the PSG president left the stadium, he didn't show the slightest hint of confidence, reported Le Parisien. He also didn't make an official statement, just a few words on the way to the parking lot: "It's only halftime. There's no euphoria."

The Gunners also need to be cautious away from home. In Eindhoven, they demolished PSV 7-1 in the round of 16. In Madrid, they beat Real Madrid 2-1. Neither Arsenal nor PSG have ever won the Champions League. The London club reached the final once, in 2006, losing 2-1 to FC Barcelona. The venue, by the way, was Paris, albeit at the Stade de France.

But PSG now aims to take the penultimate step toward their crowning glory at the Parc des Princes. The final in Munich on May 31st will be against either Inter Milan or FC Barcelona. The Italians would be a special opponent for Donnarumma. He first played for Inter's arch-rivals AC Milan, who were also their city rivals, in the youth system (from summer 2013) and then for the senior team (from summer 2015).

If it is Barcelona, ​​it will be a reunion for coach Luis Enrique: he was under contract with the Catalans for eight years as a professional and three years as head coach of the first team.

With a smug grin, he stated after the important first-leg victory in London: "We are satisfied, but we can still improve." If he succeeds in pulling off the big coup with PSG, he will have achieved what predecessors such as Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc and Thomas Tuchel (who was in the final in 2020) have failed to do since the club was taken over by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund "Qatar Sports Investments (QSI)" in 2011, with players ranging from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappé.