And so to the Stadium of Stone for the Tuesday evening’s visit of our first Pot 1 opponent in the new format Champions League, French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG is an artifice in that it was created at the start of the 1970s to fill the vacuum in Paris caused by the absence of a Ligue 1 team. Paris FC, a shell club set up by two businessmen, merged with Stade Saint-Germain, a Ligue 2 club based 20 km west of the city centre.
The well-heeled suburb of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which derives its name from St. Germain, a 6th-century Gallo-Roman bishop of Paris, is redolent with royal history. The badge on PSG’s shirts long featured a cradle and the fleur-de-lys in recognition of the birth of the Sun King, Louis XIV, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638. If you were paying attention in history class at school, you may remember that James II fled there after the Glorious Revolution. He died there in exile. Still, that was a better way to go than his father, Charles I, who had his head lopped off outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. Regicide is a dish best-served cold. I digress…
PSG soon decamped the suburbs for the Parc de Princes in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. Its first 40 years saw success, tumult and ownership drama. In 2011, Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, bought it. The cradle got dropped from the crest in 2013 in a redesign that also saw Saint-Germain lose its typographically equal billing with Paris and the quintessential symbol of the city, the Eiffel Tower, bestride the fleur-de-lys.
With gas wealth came galacticos — the likes of Beckham, Ibrahimović, Neymar, Messi, Mbappé — blue-chip head coaches — Ancelotti, Blanc, Emery, Tuchel and Pochettino — and yet more domestic silverware (last season saw its 12th league title, 15th French cup and ninth league cup), However, the coveted Champions League trophy remained elusive.
The club changed tack for the 2022-23 season, with financial fair play casting an ever-darkening shadow over Doha’s ‘nation branding’ in the City of Lights. Christophe Galtier replaced Poch to rebuild with younger, hungrier and cheaper talent. After a year and a big clear-out, despite winning the league, Galtier was succeeded by former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique.
Enrique’s era
Enrique arrived with a reputation as a top coach who brought on young players and for having no truck with unruly dressing rooms. Like Arteta, he swept away any troublesome last vestiges of l’ancien régime (for which read Mbappé) and imposed a new culture and playing style. As Arteta put it in his pre-match presser, Enrique’s fingerprints are all over PSG.
His first season brought a domestic treble (replicating his first season managing Barcelona), although yet again, no Big Ears, with the team faltering in the semi-final for the third time in five seasons. However, domestic success gave an imprimatur to Enrique’s approach that no one strays from the path he has laid out, as did his willingness to bench Mbappé. In another echo of Arteta, when asked about Mbappé’s departure to Real Madrid, he retorted that the team is the star.
Enrique’s footballing philosophy is difficult to pigeonhole; he likes his teams to play high-intensity, attacking, vertical football. It would be misleading to characterise it as counterattacking, as Guardiola has done, but it is not possession-obsessed, either. Enrique has been pragmatic with his formations wherever he has managed, although incisive wingers and all-round intensity have been recurring features. The ex-Liverpool, Bayern, Barca and Spain international Tiago described Enrique as a mix of Guardiola’s tactical acumen and Klopp’s aggressiveness.
Enrique typically starts PSG in a 4-3-3, although he sometimes uses a back three as he did with Spain. Last season in the CL, he switched to 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 for the away legs against the Barcodes and Real Sociedad, respectively.
La selection
First-choice keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the best, missed PSG’s past few games because of a muscular problem in his right thigh. He trained on Sunday and has travelled to London, but if he does not start, the Russian international Matvey Safonov, who joined from Krasnodar in the summer, will continue to deputise.
The back four will be built around centre backs Marquinhos, the club captain, who has more than 90 caps for Brazil, the first won after he joined PSG 11 years ago, and the young Ecuador international Willian Pacho, who has impressed since arriving in the summer after a €40 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt. The ex-Inter Slovakian international Milan Škriniar provides cover from the bench.
The 22-year-old Portuguese international left-back Nuno Mendes missed Friday’s match because of a virus, so 20-year-old Lucas Beraldo, who arrived from Sao Paolo in January for €20 million, may start. Beraldo can also play centre-back should Enrique prefer a back three. Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi, reputedly a Real Madrid target, will already have been pencilled in at right back.
Vitinha, a Portuguese international who spent a season on loan at Wolves when he was with Porto, will likely return from injury to anchor the midfield, accompanied by Joao Neves, who turned 20 on Friday. He was bought from Benfica in the summer for €60 million to replace Manuel Ugarte, who was considered not good enough on the ball and sold to Man U, where he’d be a better fit. Neves is joint top for assists this season in the top five European leagues with our Starboy and Barca wunderkind Lamine Yamal.
Enrique has talent aplenty to complete his midfield or fine-tune it from the bench: French international Warren Zaïre-Emery, still only18 and a highly rated PSG yoof product who broke into the team last season: 23-year-old Lee Kang-in, a rising South Korea star who in 2019 became the youngest South Korean to appear in the CL; Senny Mayulu, another 18-year-old product of PSG’s academy; and, at 28, the relatively veteran Fabián Ruiz, picked up two seasons ago from Napoli for a bargain €22.50 million.
Up front, Ousmane Dembele brings the experience of more than 50 caps for France, including winning the World Cup, to the right wing. Highly-rated and highly-dangerous left-winger Bradley Barcola, 22, who broke into the French national team this year, is Ligue 1’s leading goalscorer this term with six; he has pace to burn and ball control to match. So, too, does Désiré Doué, a 19-year-old regarded as one of the brightest prospects in French football. Enrique has carefully managed the introduction of PSG’s €50 million summer signing, giving him his first start only ten days ago. He missed Friday’s game against Rennes with injury and is doubtful for Tuesday.
Kolo Muani, another France international, will likely provide the cutting edge at centre-forward. He is a tall, rangy winger-turned-centre forward physically reminiscent of TH14. In the summer of 2023, PSG paid Eintracht Frankfurt €80 million for him plus €5 million in add-ons. With fellow centre-forwards Gonçalo Ramos and ex-Real Madrid man Marco Asensio recently off games (although Asensio has travelled), Muani’s expensive shoulders carry the burden of replacing Mbappe’s goals (44 of PSG’s 120 in all competitions last season).
Three draws in four
We’ve met PSG twice before, home and away in the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994 on our way to winning it, and in the CL group stage in 2016, which didn’t end happily for either club: in the Round of 16, PSG had a 4-0 home win advantage wiped out by Barcelona, then managed by Enrique, and we won’t dwell on our two games against Bayern Munich. Three of the four games between us and PSG were draws, and the other was a 1-0 to the Arsenal.
We have a more extensive history against the Paris club that PSG has eclipsed, Racing Club de Paris. Herbert Chapman started a tradition in 1930 of taking Arsenal on European tours. Friendlies with Racing would continue, wars permitting, for 30 years, but that is a story for another day.
The Arsenal
PSG leads Ligue 1 with five wins and a draw in six games, scoring 20 and conceding five. In their opening CL fixture, they unconvincingly beat Girona 1-0. We will be the strongest opposition they have faced so far this season.
They, too, will be formidable opponents. It goes without saying that Arteta will play his strongest available team against the club for which he played his first senior top-flight game. Given the availability doubts over White and Calafiori, I am going to fudge the full-backs:
Raya
Timber/White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber/Calafiori
Partey, Rice, Trossard
Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
After the draw in Bergamo, we need all three points from a home game. Hopefully, we can battle through, but it will be no walk-over: 2-1 to the Arsenal.
Enjoy the game ‘holics, near and far.
It’s extraordinarily unlikely that there will be a more comprehensive and informative preview anywhere than this one, Ned. Somewhat worryingly however, the detailed insights you’ve provided on the depth and strength of the PSG squad have moved me from a mindset of confidence to one of some considerable trepidation. We’ll need to be at our best and your team prediction looks solid in that regard. Hopefully both first choice full backs will be available and we’ll see Mwaneri enter the fray a little earlier than he did on Saturday.
Enjoy the game. If I’m lucky, I’ll be watching on my phone – never the best of viewing options but sodden hill walkers rarely have better choices.
Thanks, Ned. I’ll take the obvious comment and say that if he plays the hands of Safonov won’t quite be safe enough.
Very comprehensive preview Ned . You point out how deep and talented their squad is . Merino , White and Calafiori all trained today . Timber and the Italian will , I think be the full backs and Merino may provide experience from the bench . I think, otherwise your team is spot-on
One point I want go raise is what I consider to be ridiculous criticism of Declan Rice on other websites . I observed him closely on Saturday and he was excellent in an unobtrusive way. I fancy we may take this 2-1 though a 1-1 draw wouldn’t be a huge surprise
ned, excellent work. i love your previews.
i think this is going to be a tough game, even at home. if we contain them and play our game, we’ll do well. mls and nwaneri on at 70 for 20 minutes to push hard against tired legs… tough to call a final score, but anything other than a loss and i am happy.
Thanks for the kind words. This will be a tough game. PSG is ranked 6th in the UEFA club coefficient rankings to our 19th. Barcola looks a handful and Joao Neves needs to be kept off the ball.
On a separate note, the GHF Predictathon leaderboard for Match Week 6 is posted. We have a new leader. You know where to find it…
Excellent stuff Ned, PSG are I believe
widely despised in France (it’s possible
I think that because most of my
French friends are Lyonnaise) but it’s
true they are also showing worrying
signs of putting together an actual team.
It seems Dembele won’t play and
some of our returning players will
boost our depth – 2-0 to The Arsenal
I forgot to mention that I enjoyed the
bonus dig at Manure Ned. And bt8 @2
😃😃
Thanks for a superbly researched preview, Ned. You have clarified a longstanding mystery for me. Long before we were regularly exposed to other European league games and Qatar had turned them into a financially doped monster club (what is it with these Arabs?) I wondered where PSG had sprung from.
Clearly PSG are on a far more sensible path under Enrique who has had a far better managerial career than his doppelgänger Keane though whether the owners have the patience to put up with merely French hegemony, if they once again fail to win big ears, remains to be seen.
It’s going to be hard fought but we must beat this Frankenstein monster for the good of football. I expect the team that started against Lesta to start tonight but hope we see Nwaneri, Sterling and Jesus rather earlier in the second half if we are chasing the game.
2-1 to the good guys would be fine though I’d like us to recapture the clean sheet habit. It’ll be interesting to see what tactic MA8 adopts given the variety of styles we have seen since Ødegaard got injured. I expect an emphasis on not losing and in the end a draw would not be a disaster.
I’m flying to PHX in a few hours, renting a voiture, and driving north so don’t expect to see the game when I’m on my way to the wilds of southern Utah so had better say it now. Allez allez allez les rouges!!
Thanks Ned – super preview.
Unlike some here I would not be happy with a draw, only a win will do to move us along after Atalanta and we need to win all our home games in this competition.
Any win will do but win we must.
UTA.
Definitely need to cut out any silly errors as I fear we’ll be more likely to be punished. Hope not but I fear a draw might be our best outcome here.
I like what you say, Noosa. On the airline travel front I have had a first class upgrade with fast, free wifi service. Almost as luxurious as BtM’s executive box seats at last weekend’s game (as I imagined it). 🙂
bt8@9: Enjoy the trip. Utah has some truly spectacular National Parks.
bath@8:The twist to the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain in 1970 is that it fell apart in !972. In 1971, Paris City Council offered to pay off PSG’s debt if it dropped the Saint-Germain from its name. That caused a bitter split between the Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain factions within PSG. Club president Guy Crescent, one of the businessmen who had set up Paris FC and brokered the merger, favoured the name change but ended up being replaced by former Stade Saint-Germain president Henri Patrelle, who did not. At the end of the 1971-72 season, Crescent reformed Paris FC with the backing of the Paris City Council. Paris FC started playing in the Parc de Prince and managed to keep PSG’s place in Ligue 1 and all its professional players. At the same time, PSG was administratively demoted to the non-professional third tier. However, PSG would play its way back into Ligue Un within two seasons, passing Paris FC, who were demoted from the top flight in 1974 and would end up in the amateur divisions. However, Paris FC is now back in Ligue 2 and topping the table, so Paris, the city, might get a PFC-PSG derby march next season.
Ligue 2 Paris FC drama sounds quite dramatic indeed, Ned. PSG have been needing, for quite some time now, to be put in their place by some intense local rivals. It wouldn’t hurt if Arsenal put them in their place either, for that matter.
Under 21s currently live on TNT Sports 1 in the UEFA Youth League against PSG at Meadowhall. Currently 1-0 up. Pissing down in Borehamwood.
Meadow Park not Meadowhall.
Thanks Ned for another fact filled preview – we must be the best informed members of the goonerverse. A win of any sorts will keep us on the right path in this new UCL format. We often struggle to repeat our best form in these matches, lets send the froggies hopping back across the channel wondering what hit them.
COYRRR
More top notch, painstaking research, Ned. I think this blog can be proud of the consistent standard of writing which puts many national rags to shame.
This level of research takes a long time, so many thanks for that.
Dembele will not be involved at all – much to the presumed relief of Calafiori who was landed on by the former in the last Interlull. The Frenchman has fallen out with Enrique for disciplinary reasons which, as you point out, does not normally end well.
Interesting starting line-up from PSG. Much as expected, except the front free doesn’t have a recognised centre-forward with Muani on the bench. Hopefully, it will be a case of our false nine’s are better than their false nines.
I agree with all those who say we need a win tonight, not a draw. The new mini-league format puts a premium on getting points on the board. Playing only eight of the other 35 clubs means there is a lot of points-accumulation that is outside our control.
Cheers, Trev. Sadly, the bar for putting the red tops to shame is so low you’d have to mine to find it.
An excellent first half with Arsenal well deserving the 2-0 lead. Every man has put in a great shift – even Partey who has had the best 45 minutes I’ve seen from him in a long time.
COYG
Timber off, replaced by Kiwior. Don’t know why.
Job done.
We pretty much played on the model of the C115y game in the SH. Conceded possession and middle third territory and asked PSG to show us what they could do then managed that pretty comfortably.
Nice to see Merino come on. Looks handy. Hope Timber is ok.
Excellent result, strong performance and although it didn’t mean much in the great qualifying scheme of things (both teams will qualify) it did send out a message about coming to The Arsenal
Only worry would be why Timber went off and hope it is ok
That was a measured and mature performance that negated a PSG side that will be a handful in a season or two. Three very good points and onwards.
>>>>>>>