The clock is ticking down to kick-off as Arsenal again look to take on one of Europe’s giants and, for some, the favourites of the UEFA Champions League in PSG at the Emirates Stadium. They might be weakened from the win over Real Madrid as Thomas Partey is suspended and their league form in a poor state, but in Europe everything is different.
Arsenal drew every match before their last four Champions League matches, which saw them eliminate PSV 9-3 on aggregate before the now famous 5-1 win over Los Blancos, including victory in the Santiago Bernabeu. Mikel Arteta has masterminded this progression and now has a new challenge.
With PSG coming to North London, Arteta now needs to work out who is best to take on their opponents from those who are available. Following the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, Arteta was asked by football.london whether he did indeed have an idea as to who he would be starting and it would be fair to say he did not.
"Without understanding who is available at the moment, very difficult," he said. Which makes sense considering both Ben White and Mikel Merino were missing from the team that drew with the Eagles.
In a dream scenario, however, both stars would be back, plus defender Riccardo Calafiori, who has been missing since the last international break in March when he suffered a knee injury with Italy. That said, even in such a case, only Merino would be in the starting XI, and this time it would be in midfield.
He was excellent at Ipswich in the role, providing an assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal and with the form of Leandro Trossard seeing the Belgian notch four times in four league games, there is no reason to change things right now. Bukayo Saka and Martinelli will be the wide options looking to break down the world’s most potent full-backs: Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.
Joining Merino in midfield will be the king of the Real Madrid tie, Declan Rice. Along with Martin Odegaard, who continues to battle against a season of poor form in relation to what we have come to expect from the club captain, but he will hope to continue to buck that trend on Tuesday.
In the backline, Jakub Kiwior has been the standout performer, a massive compliment to him, while William Saliba needs to shake off these mistakes, which have begun to creep into his game of late. Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly obviously start in our full-back roles while David Raya continues in goal.
Dream Arsenal XI vs PSG: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
