Kvaratskhelia has been booming since the beginning of the year.

Former England manager Gareth Southgate has compared Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to the legendary George Best. Some may find this insulting or an exaggeration, but after the match, Jurrien Timber must have agreed with Southgate to some extent.

The young Arsenal defender wasn't old enough to see Best play, but he certainly won't forget the clash with Kvaratskhelia.

Level

With his socks pulled down, his pace, creativity and physicality, the Georgian evokes the likes of Best of old as he constantly disrupts Arsenal’s right flank. Timber, one of the pillars of the Premier League’s most solid defence this season, has rarely been tested so much.

He struggled to contain Kvaratskhelia, even coming close to being booked by referee Slavko Vinčić for fouling his opponents. Timber has often nullified opposing wingers with little effort this season.

The Dutch defender's skills, physique and mindset help him to contain the opposition's explosive players. He is the piece that helps Arsenal have one of the best defenses in the Premier League and Champions League this season.

However, in the match at Emirates Stadium in the early morning of April 30, Timber and Arsenal had to sweat against the fast and skillful strikers of PSG. Unlike a Real Madrid that played predictably and lacked energy, Arsenal had to face PSG - a team that breathed the future.

The team under the guidance of coach Luis Enrique was young, agile and full of vitality, showing a clear football philosophy. In the first 30 minutes of the match, they made Arsenal stagger and extinguished the lively atmosphere at Emirates Stadium with a goal in the fourth minute.

Ousmane Dembélé scored the goal, but Kvaratskhelia's lightning pass also made the difference, completely eliminating Arsenal's defence. Dembélé picked up the ball deep in his own half after Arsenal had lost possession, then cut through the opposition's midfield, combined with Kvaratskhelia on the wing, received a precise back pass, and fired a low shot past David Raya.

The air around the Emirates Stadium suddenly went quiet, as if someone had turned off the sound. This was the football Enrique was looking for. Kvaratskhelia and Dembélé, two of the best wingers in the world right now, combining from deep to break down the best defence in Europe this season.

Waiting for the return trip

If Kvaratskhelia had been more cunning, he could have made Timber's day even more disastrous. In the 16th minute, Kvaratskhelia dribbled past both William Saliba and Bukayo Saka, forcing Timber to intervene.

The Dutchman made a tricky tackle to block Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian star went down in the penalty area, but the referee did not stop the game and VAR also decided not to review the incident. If Kvaratskhelia had taken a step further and made the fall look more "real", things could have been different.

Kvaratskhelia made Timber have a hard day.

However, this move also shows the fearsomeness of the former Napoli star. It is no coincidence that the people of Naples call Kvaratskhelia "Little Maradona". Coach Mikel Arteta will certainly have a lot of work to do with Arsenal's defense in the second leg.

Arsenal still have a chance to turn the game around after conceding a one-goal lead. However, next week's match at the Parc des Princes will be very different, with the heat from PSG fans likely to give Kvaratskhelia and his teammates an extra boost.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals this season, at the Parc des Princes, Kvaratskhelia created a memorable moment in his career, when he scored an impressive goal against Aston Villa. Receiving the ball on the left wing, the Georgian striker performed a diving move, using a fake move to eliminate Disasi, causing this defender to lose balance.

Kvaratskhelia slid her right foot over the ball, without slowing down, twisting her hips to the left like a ballerina. The victim, Aston Villa defender Disasi, fell and only had time to turn around to see what happened next. The ball flew from Kvaratskhelia's left foot (her weaker foot), straight into the top corner of the goal near Emi Martinez.

Kvaratskhelia has yet to score against Arsenal, but his assist for Dembele early in the match and a series of classy performances on the left wing are enough to make people mention his name.

Source: https://znews.vn/bom-tan-70-trieu-euro-la-con-ac-mong-cua-arsenal-post1549968.html