Tuesday night sees Mikel Arteta take on one of his most important assignments as Arsenal manager, as European giants, Paris Saint-Germain, head to the Emirates Stadium.
As always, the Ligue Un table is dominated by the Parisiens, and after just six games of the 2024/25 campaign, Luis Enrique’s side have scored 20 goals and conceded just five, winning five of their games and drawing one.
They are unbeaten in all competitions this season, though they will be without the enviable talents of Ousmane Dembele after Luis Enrique cut him from the squad after the player apparently exhibited some ill-discipline.
Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to take the “next step” in the Champions League
PSG still have enough talent in their squad to cause Arsenal problems, and ahead of the game, Arteta laid down a Champions League challenge to his players.
“This is what we have to prove – last year we almost went all the way,” he was quoted as saying by Mirror Sport.
“We came up short, so that is something we have to do better. We have to be involved in the cups much further, too, and that’s the next step we have to make as a team.”
Arsenal expert, Charles Watts, speaking to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing column, identified one player who could expose PSG’s weak link during the match.
It isn’t just Gabriel Martinelli that’ll be expected to turn up the heat, however. Every single Arsenal player needs to be on it.
PSG have, and have always had, a formidable reputation going right back to the days when Arteta himself wore their colours.
At that time, as an 18-year-old just making his way in the game, he roomed with Brazilian maestro, Ronaldinho, and it’s clear that the Spaniard looks back on those days with great fondness.
“He (Ronaldinho) had an aura, an energy, a smile on his face … it was impossible to be next to him and be in a bad mood,” Mirror Sport quote him as saying.
“And I never saw a talent like this in training – in every drill, it was like: How is this possible? Physically, it’s impossible to do certain things, but not for him.
“It was unbelievable to play with him. What was he like to room with? Great – again, so much energy, so much fun, everything was good. Never a problem. Great times.”