Arsenal have proven throughout this Champions League campaign that they are formidable opponents and I believe they will do so once again at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
This tie is far from over. Arsenal are down, but not out. PSG play with a clear plan and a real purpose. They want to attack at all times with a flexibility and freedom of movement that has taken Europe by storm.
This is a side who beat Manchester City after being two goals down, then took Liverpool and Aston Villa to task in the last two knockout rounds.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are three of the best players of their generation, but PSG’s new front three of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue work far harder out of possession and in battling duels than their predecessors ever did.
They can pop up anywhere across the front line. Kvaratskhelia and Doue will move from the wings into central positions and PSG’s two midfielders, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, will push up to join the front men. Right back Achraf Hakimi is given the licence to roam as he sprints down the side, inverts into midfield or, on occasion, you might even see him looking like a striker!
Hakimi is a great strength for PSG when he gets forward, but it will be interesting to see how PSG cope with Myles Lewis-Skelly when he arrives in midfield himself. Lewis-Skelly skipped past PSG’s defensive lines more than once in that first leg to great effect.
Arsenal were overrun by a strong, vibrant Paris Saint-Germain when they visited the Emirates
Mikel Arteta will need to make sure his players are more ruthless in the second-leg in Paris
But PSG will have to work out how to control Myles Lewis-Skelly as he seeks to get Arsenal a spot in the Champions League final
The French giants press aggressively with six players but lack an out-and-out defensive midfielder, and if Arsenal can play through their committed press, as they did at times last week, they can expose the home defence and create chances.
Arsenal showed with early balls played between PSG’s centre backs and full backs, to feed Leandro Trossard and the wingers, that they can test goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who played to a very high level in the first leg.
Arsenal have to be much more ruthless than they were in the last match and punish PSG when they get those opportunities. Arsenal’s strength is their physicality, particularly in midfield.
In the first leg, there were a few contentious decisions where the referee took away any chance of Arsenal using that to their advantage.
The reintroduction of Thomas Partey should allow Declan Rice to move back to the left and be more aggressive with his press. Partey’s physicality can help win the midfield battle.
But the Gunners’ captain Martin Odegaard must be more creative if the visitors will succeed
Arsenal need more creativity from Martin Odegaard. He is Mikel Arteta’s most technical player and the quality of his passing must return to its best. He is the trigger for Arsenal’s press and has to lead with those punishing passes, playing with the confidence to drive on everyone else.
Injuries to key players mean Arteta doesn’t have the same luxury of turning to his bench that other managers have.
Villa boss Unai Emery was able to throw on Marco Asensio, Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey for the latter stages of the second leg against PSG. With respect to Arteta’s substitutes, Ethan Nwaneri is one of the only players to whom he could turn to make a difference in an attacking sense.
Arsenal were stunned in the opening 20 minutes by PSG but, watching last week’s leg back, Arteta’s side grew into that first half. They did that by pressing high and playing early passes into their wide men.
They cannot go to Paris now and sit off their opponents.
Arteta’s starters need to engage from the get-go if they are to produce one of the club’s greatest European nights.
