Parlour Issues Arsenal Warning After Witnessing PSG's Five-Goal Thriller Against Bayern

Ray Parlour has sounded an alarm bell for Arsenal's Champions League prospects after the spectacular showdown between PSG and Bayern Munich that ended 5-4 on Tuesday evening.

The Gunners prepare for their own semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night, providing a welcome break from their stuttering Premier League campaign where they risk losing ground to Manchester City in the title race. Mikel Arteta will hope the European competition offers his side some respite from recent domestic inconsistency.

The contrast between the two semi-final ties couldn't be starker. While Arsenal face a typically combative Atletico Madrid clash, PSG and Bayern Munich served up a breathless spectacle of attacking football that left Parlour in no doubt about the calibre of opposition waiting in any potential final.

"Olise was different class. Do you know another player who probably Liverpool fans will be looking at and saying, 'Why didn't we keep him?'… Luis Diaz, he was superb on that left-hand side for Bayern going forward," Parlour reflected on talkSPORT.

The former Arsenal midfielder believes both remaining contenders must be acutely aware of what lies ahead. "You look at it now and I'm sure Atletico Madrid and Arsenal will be looking at that and thinking, 'Wait a minute, if we get them in the final then one of us is going to have to be at our best if we're going to beat Bayern Munich or PSG'."

Parlour reckoned PSG squandered a golden opportunity to put the tie beyond reach. After establishing a 5-2 cushion, the Parisians failed to manage the game intelligently, allowing Bayern a pathway back into proceedings. "PSG will be kicking themselves a little bit. To get 5-2 up, you'd be thinking, 'Come on, let's just try and slow it down a little bit, keep possession', but credit to Bayern because they just kept going," he explained.

"Bayern had a couple of chances at the end to get the equaliser as well, but the game itself, the quality of the game, was magnificent, it really was."

When turning his attention to Wednesday's Arsenal encounter, Parlour predicted a far tighter affair. "It'll be 0-0 tonight! It will be a little bit tighter! It was a tight game last night in quality of goals, but I can't see it being nine goals tonight if I'm being honest with you."

The three-time Premier League winner acknowledged that PSG and Bayern represent the competition's most formidable attacking forces. "But the two best sides, if you look at those two going forward, it's very hard to deal with the forward, attacking ability that they've both got."

Parlour noted the elevated stakes fundamentally altered the nature of Tuesday's spectacle. "You always look at the importance of the game because you can get a really top-class game with loads of goals, end-to-end stuff, when you're not playing for anything. But these two teams last night were playing for the final of the Champions League and to put on a show like that… it would have been an amazing game to be in."

He concluded by praising the atmosphere and anticipating another thrilling encounter when Bayern head to Paris for the second leg. "If I was in that stadium, the atmosphere sounded like it was unbelievable so that's one thing you get from Paris. When you go to Bayern Munich it will be exactly the same so it should be a cracking second leg."