On Tuesday night Arsenal will kick off their Champions league campaign for th twenty first year in a row and they return to the ground which once staged their painful and crushing defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the final of the greatest European competition.
The formidable challenge of PSG can never be underestimated as their squad depth and quality would cause even the best of teams great concern. Both teams come in to this match on the back of very average starts to the season.
While Arsenal's loss and a draw has been followed by two wins, PSG have only picked up a point from their last two matches following two wins from two.
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Let's start with the hosts then, the current French cup and league champions after a phenomenal showing last season, blitzing to victory after only 30 matches, breaking the record set by Gérard Houllier's Olympique Lyonnais in 2007, who won the title after 33 matches.
However, subsequent to the departures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and manager Laurent Blanc, they haven't looked as ruthless. Form of course though can so often be irrelevant when it comes to the European stage, teams have been known to pull out incredible performances despite their poor domestic form, Arsenal's 2-0 win over Bayern Munich following a dismal home defeat in the FA cup springs to mind.
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The French side have a formidable defence, even without the infamous David Luiz, Kevin Trapp is shielded by a defence of Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Aurier and the young french left back Layvin Kurzawa, who goes into this match in startling form.
Perhaps some unknown names in this back four, however they only conceded a staggeringly low 15 goals in the previous campaign. The midfield is made up of tough tackling no nonsense defender Thiago Motta, his Italian counterpart Marco Verratti and the industrious Blaise Matuidi.
This midfield blends skill and defensive quality excellently ensuring that the strike force of, Angel Di Maria and new signing Hatem Ben Arfa are free to express themselves without the fear of being caught out at the back.
Overall they have a phenomenal team and to claim that they are anything less simply because of the league they are in is ridiculous, you can only beat who is in put front of you.
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What can we say about Arsenal that hasn't already been said? They finally line up in a group with genuinely exciting teams challenges outside of the draws that have been made in recent years.
Even though PSG boast a huge threat, many Arsenal fans feel feel more positive ahead of this match as opposed to the usual dread against Barcelona or Bayern Munich, where the result is so often inevitable.
New signing Shkodran Mustafi will look to add further solidarity against a team with such attacking prowess, his grit and determination will be truly tested, considering that the North London side will expect to go into this match knowing set pieces and counter-attacking plays well be their best chance of getting a positive result.
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This means that Arsenal's wide attacking outlets in Alexis and probably Walcott will have to be on top form in order to ensure that they bring the match to the Parisians, rather than struggling to really cement their footing in the match.
This game will be a challenge for the Gunners without a shadow of a doubt, however if they defend in a similar zonal style to the home game against Bayern last season, where they won 2-0 then I feel that they could certainly get something out of this match.
Recommended bets:
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Arsenal WIN - 3/1
Arsenal to win 2-0 - 22/1
Words by: Henry Williams