Arsene Wenger praises Edinson Cavani despite handing Arsenal a point after missing series of chances for PSG

Cavani could have scored five goals against Arsenal but a mix of poor finishing and an inspired David Ospina in goal alowed the Gunners to claim a 1-1 draw

Edinson Cavani missed a number of chances in PSG's 1-1 draw with Arsenal Getty

Arsene Wenger made the strange decision to praise Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani for his performance in the 1-1 Champions League draw on Tuesday night, despite his wasteful finishing in front of goal gifting Arsenal a point from their opening European fixture.
In what is, on paper, their hardest fixture in the Champions League group stages, Arsenal can be satisfied with escaping Paris with a point in the bag. The French league champions have reached the quarter-finals for the last two years – something that Arsenal have not done since 2010.

Yet it could have been a completely different match and on another night, had he brought his best form, Cavani could have ended the match with as five goals after missing a number of chances and also coming up against an inspired David Ospina. The Colombia international goalkeeper produced a string of saves in the second half to keep Arsenal in the match, and allow Alexis Sanchez to score what could prove to be a crucial equaliser in the 77th minute.

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Arsenal escape with a point thanks to wasteful PSG finishing

Ospina’s performance drew plaudits from Wenger as well as pundits commenting on the game, but Cavani came in for criticism given that he failed to put PSG out of reach. Wenger, though, elected to praise the striker after the match, and claimed that the Uruguay international offered more to his side than just goals.
"I think Cavani was good tonight if I’m honest. I think he was very effective in terms of his pressing," said Wenger.

His counterpart, Unai Emery, also refused to criticise Cavani and admitted that while the result was not quite what the home side deserved, he can take confidence in the fact that the players are starting to click together under his tactics after he replaced Laurent Blanc in the summer.
"It's all about having the confidence to score goals. He'd scored a great goal at the start,” said Emery.

"He had three good chances, three very good chances. He wasn't the best but I said that the first thing is creating the chances.
"I'm not pleased with the result, but I'm pleased with the way we played. We're on the right track.

Cavani could have put the match beyond Arsenal's reach (Getty)

"The team showed spirit. The players did well in terms of the football we were asking them to play."