Arsenal v. Paris: a mammoth task

THE TWO TEAMS' LAST FEW RESULTS

Having enjoyed a successful start to the season, Arsenal are currently unbeaten in their last eight competitive fixtures. After running out 1-0 winners over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby a fortnight ago, The Gunners were unable to do any better than a 0-0 draw against Atalanta BC, the winners of last season's UEFA Europa League, in the opening game of their 2024–2025 European campaign. Then, a few days later, the English side came extremely close to beating reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, but they were eventually held to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Since then, though, Arsenal have returned to winning ways in convincing fashion: with a 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup followed by a 4-2 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain are also unbeaten so far this season, having taken six wins and a draw from their seven games up until now. In recent weeks, Les Rouge et Bleu have come from behind to beat Brest 3-1, snatched a vital 1-0 win in the dying moments of their opening UCL encounter of the season against Girona, been held to a 1-1 draw away to Reims and then returned to winning ways themselves with a 3-1 victory at home to Rennes last Friday.

BOTH TEAMS' CURRENT FORM IN NUMBERS

the opposition's strengths

Mikel Arteta is capable of setting his side up in various formations, be it a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1 or a flat 4-4-2. Spain's EURO-winning goalkeeper David Raya has established himself as The Gunners' first choice in goal, ahead of the highly experienced Neto, while in central defence, the duo of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães, which has been described as one of the world's most solid centre-back pairings, will almost certainly start.

On the right side of defence, Netherlands international Jurriën Timber is becoming an increasingly credible option, with the presence of usual starter Ben White still in doubt and Takehiro Tomiyasu potentially not yet fit enough to start. On the left side, meanwhile, the promising Riccardo Calafiori isn't a dead cert to be named in the starting XI, either, meaning that Jakub Kiwior could fill in for the Italy international in the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The solid Thomas Partey appears to be the favourite to start in the engine room, at the expense of Jorginho, who may well be named on the bench, with the indispensable Declan Rice expected to line up alongside the Ghana international. To complete the Arsenal midfield, which is still having to make do without playmaker Martin Ødegaard, Arteta could decide to place his trust in Belgium international Leandro Trossard, with summer signing Mikel Merino potentially not quite able to start a match at this stage. As for Ethan Nwaneri, there's a chance that the talented English attacking midfielder will make an appearance midway through the game and thereby make his debut for his formative club on the European stage.

In attack, the untouchable Bukayo Saka, who has notched up one goal and five assists in the Premier League so far this season, is expected to start on the right wing as his side's captain, while livewire Gabriel Martinelli will very probably take up a starting position on the opposite side, despite competition from the experienced Raheem Sterling, who has bagged 27 goals and 17 assists in 83 UEFA Champions League matches. Finally, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz – who has been in fine form recently as well as having scored the only goal of the 2021 UCL final for eventual winners Chelsea – will battle it out for the centre-forward role.

So, Les Parisiens should know that they will be facing not only some exceptional individuals on Tuesday night but also – and perhaps more importantly – one of the best teams in the world right now.