Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain match thread: these are the nights

Today at 01:49 PM

It's fantastic to have Champions League glamor ties at the Emirates again.

Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates in Matchday 2 of the Champions League league phase. I don't think I'll ever get used to writing that awkward phrase. Mikel Arteta's side should be feeling pretty good about themselves after their deserved late win over Leicester City. Arsenal have navigated a tough start to the season quite well to this point, especially with Martin Ødegaard on the shelf.

The Gunners could do with a home win after drawing away to Atalanta to open the league phase. There is no reason the general wisdom of "draw away, win at home" from the previous iteration of the Champions League should change. That said, a draw against the Pot 1 club you're playing at home is a fine result. With away to Inter on MD4, the Gunners have their three toughest CL fixtures front-loaded on the schedule. Keep that in mind should Arsenal find themselves in a less-than-flattering position in the CL table in a few weeks. There aren't any easy fixtures in the CL, but the easier ones are on the horizon.

PSG are off to a strong start this season, with only an away draw against a surprisingly frisky Reims side marring their record. They've scored 20 goals while only conceding 5 in the French league, although given their historical dominance of that competition, I'm not sure how much that tells us. They beat Girona in Paris on MD1 but only 1-0 and it took a 90th minute own goal to break the deadlock, a strong reminder that the Champions League is a difficult competition.

Regardless, They're a really good team. They're ranked 6th in Europe per Opta's Power Rankings. Arsenal rank 4th. We should be in for a cracking match.

Les Parisiens have retooled on the fly after Kylian Mbappe departed in the summer for Real Madrid. I don't want to say that PSG are better off without the superstar winger because he's arguably the best attacker in the world, capable of flipping a match on its head in a heartbeat, but often when a team loses a focal-point player, other guys step up to fill the void. They've got no shortage of attacking talent — Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele lead the way with 6 and 4 goals respectively, with Joao Neves (5 assists) and Achraf Hakimi (3 assists) pulling the strings.

The French side are not very big, and there are rumors that Luis Enrique might drop midfielder Vitinha in favor of some more size to combat Arsenal's height and strength. The Gunners speed and size might prove difficult for PSG to handle, and Arsenal have a significant advantage on set pieces, which could make the difference in a tightly contested Champions League game.

Regardless of the outcome, it'll be easy to get lost in the drama of the match. As we should. But let's also take a moment to appreciate that matches like this — under the lights, against the best of the best, in the Champions League — are what we (and the players) live for. A lot of us took Arsenal's perennial participation in the CL under Arsene Wenger for granted. Now, we know all too well that your place at the top isn't guaranteed. That you have to battle to earn it, cherish it while you've got it, and fight like heck not to give it up.

Speaking of fight, it appears as if Mikel Merino, who Mikel Arteta said the club were trying to keep in a "cage" for his own good to aid his recovery from a shoulder injury, has been let out. The Spanish midfielder is expected to be available off the bench for the Gunners. The combative midfielder is another aerial threat for Arsenal — you'll remember he scored a late, header winner for Spain against Germany in the Euros this summer.

Riccardo Calafiori seems to be fine after swirling rumors that he suffered an injury in the dying minutes of the Leicester City match. Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned to Arsenal training following the injury he suffered in preseason, but I'd expect that it's too soon for him to make the bench. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney, and Martin Ødegaard remain out. Ben White seems likely to miss out with whatever injury is giving him trouble, although it seems more precautionary than anything else.

PSG will be without defenders Lucas Hernandez and Prsenel Kimpembe and attacker Goncalo Ramos through injury. The aforementioned Vitinha is coming off an injury but available for selection, even though the rumors are he may be dropped for more "beef" in the midfield. Gianluigi Donnarumma is also coming off an injury but available for selection and expected to start in goal. Left back Nuno Mendes has missed time with illness recently but is expected to be available for selection.

The biggest piece of PSG team news is that Ousmane Dembele has been left behind in Paris by manager Luis Enrique. There was a rumored disagreement between manager and player following PSG's Friday night win over Rennes. The Spaniard downplayed the incident saying "there are no problems between us. That is completely false. This is simply about the responsibilities of the player. If someone doesn't comply or respect the expectations of the team, it means they are not prepared to play. This match is very important and I want all my players to be ready, so as a consequence I have left him out."

The why doesn't really matter to Arsenal. The bottom line is that Dembele isn't playing and that's a decent bit of fortune for the Gunners. And PSG have plenty of attacking talent to take his place.

Arsenal - Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Partey, Trossard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz

PSG - lineup will be posted when available

WHO: Arsenal vs Paris Saint-Germain
WHERE: The Emirates
WHEN: Tuesday, October 1st, 12 pm PT | 3 pm ET | 5 pm BTHOW TO WATCH: Streaming on the Paramount+ app

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