Kylian Mbappe made the impossible possible at PSG.
Example: a year after chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared it ‘impossible’ that Mbappe would leave on a free, he did exactly that this summer. Poof. Vanished like Houdini’s elephant. Au revoir Paris, hola Madrid.
Mbappe was the thunderbolt at the heart of the PSG storm for seven seasons, a rare constant of excellence in a turbulence of ambition and expensive flops. Two years ago a mural in his home suburb of Bondy was defaced with a death threat lest he leave. Their love for him had twisted into possessiveness and dependence.
Surprisingly, divested of their last true superstar, they now look better. PSG are unbeaten at the top of Ligue 1, scoring freely, and solid at the back. Mbappe, for all his brilliance, rarely showed up for a defensive shift.
Tonight the youthful Parisians face Arsenal in the Champions League. Beware Bradley Barcola. Watch out for Joao Neves, who Mikel Arteta wanted. Warren Zaire-Emery owns matches and he’s only 18. Welcome to the new PSG.
Losing Kylian Mbappe has only strengthened PSG, who are working better as a team
Bradley Barcola has taken Mbappe’s mantle and scored more than the superstar this season
PSG look more defensively solid this season with everyone pulling in the same direction
Montpellier have already felt PSG’s wrath this season in a 6-0 rout at the Parc des Princes
Barcola is the most potent threat Arsenal face tonight. The left-winger has six goals already this campaign and stunned Rennes with a double at the weekend.
Already they’re talking about him as the new Mbappe. ‘He represents the present and the future,’ said manager Luis Enrique last December. Any void left by the man who scored a third of their goals last season has been consummately filled.
It’s Barcola’s pace that is most frightening and he likes to run directly at defenders, though Ben White’s likely replacement Jurrien Timber should have the physicality to give the youngster a test of his elite credentials.
Barcola, 22, offers significantly more than Mbappe defensively, so it will not be an easy time for anyone trying to maraud down the right for the Gunners.
He was trusted part of France’s Euro 2024 squad, making three appearances, though he feels better now than he did even three months ago.
‘I have freed myself up since the Euros and I realised that I can make a difference. I have the coach’s trust,’ he said. Hence why he has already beaten last season’s goal tally in 32 fewer games.
Ousmane Dembele has been lethal, bagging four goals and as many assists, although Arsenal can thank their lucky stars that he will not feature tonight.
The former Barcelona forward reportedly fell out with manager Enrique after the Rennes win at the weekend for ‘disciplinary reasons’. As per L’Equipe, Enrique, a treble-winning boss with Barca in 2014-15 and never one to surrender to his players, has duly ejected Dembele from the squad. Who’s the man, Ousmane?
Joao Neves’ casual creative magic has led to five assists already after his move from Benfica
PSG look set to be without Ousmane Dembele after he fell out with manager Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique, formerly a treble winner with Barcelona, knows how to navigate Europe
A boost for Arsenal, you say, but the fact that Enrique has the guts to do that shows his confidence in other options. Lee Kang-in and Marco Asensio as possible replacements are no small fry.
Then there’s midfielder Neves, 20, who PSG paid Benfica to the tune of £50m for this summer. Most of Europe’s top clubs, as well as Manchester United, were reportedly keen on the creator.
It’s easy to see why. The Portuguese has racked up five assists and, playing at the centre of a midfield three, has already developed a good understanding with PSG’s forwards.
His give-and-go with Barcola in the 4-1 win over Le Havre to kick start the season was simple but deadly, with the winger dropping in before bursting past his marker with blistering pace to meet Neves’ through-ball.
To the right of Neves, there’s the precocious Zaire-Emery, 18, a playmaker who is unflappable on the ball. Those that press him seem only to shoot themselves in the foot.
He has earned comparisons to Jude Bellingham for his versatility, being able to play at No 6, No 8, or No 10. While not blessed with Bellingham’s brawn, he makes up for it in technical precision.
His ability is not best represented in the goals and assists column, but the less noticeable things. A better pass completion rate than Luka Modric, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kobbie Mainoo. A high rate of tackles in the attacking third. More carries into the final third than 98 per cent of other midfielders.
He was the youngest-ever player to appear in the Champions League knockout stages before Lamine Yamal took that crown. Since 16 he has been a PSG regular. At 17 Thierry Henry made him captain of his France under-21s – though he said he could hardly celebrate his first senior call-up due to having homework.
Warren Zaire-Emery has been a PSG fixture since 16 and earned Jude Bellingham comparisons
Fabian Ruiz has had a quieter start to the season but excelled with Spain at Euro 2024
Arsenal will need all their defensive grit to subdue a free-scoring PSG strike force
PSG’s creative midfield has helped them on their way to scoring 20 goals in six league games
Joining Neves and Zaire-Emery in midfield typically is the more experienced Fabian Ruiz, who was world-class for Spain at Euro 2024 but has had a quiet start to the season.
Arsenal proved they can sit deep and defend resolutely against Manchester City and they may need periods of that tonight to counter-act the pinpoint passes of PSG’s creators, who have the rapid Randal Kolo Muani to pick out as well as Barcola.
PSG have dominated the ball in Ligue 1 this season, averaging 68 per cent possession, and have not wasted it.
They’re already on 20 league goals for the season in six games, of course helped by a 6-0 pummelling of Montpellier, and any fears that losing Mbappe would stem their verve has been dismissed. Le Havre, Montpellier, and Stade Reims are not Arsenal, though.
Over the years, one of the accusations levelled at PSG is that they are too defensively crumbly on the elite stage. The 6-1 defeat in Barcelona in 2017, throwing away a 4-0 lead from the first leg, is a lasting symbol of their porousness and a stick to beat them with. It even has its own name: La Remontada.
But this iteration of PSG has a new attitude. ‘I don’t think you saw one star but 16 who came out to fight for Paris Saint-Germain’s colours: 16 stars in attack, 16 stars in defence. That is what perfection is,’ Enrique said after the 6-0 thrashing of Montepllier in August.
Forwards tracking back winning the ball back in their own half – this is not something you would often see in the days of yore with Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe manning the frontline. The pressure on Arsenal’s midfield to play quickly will be urgent from front and behind.
PSG’s defence is built on experienced foundations – central defender Marquinhos has been around the block, Achraf Hakimi is seasoned for a 25-year-old, while Milan Skriniar is waiting, aged 37, to step in.
If Mikel Arteta can find a way to beat PSG then he will make a major statement to Europe
Could Arsenal take advantage of Gianluigi’s shaky record in the Champions league?
PSG’s back line is marshalled by veteran rock and captain Marquinhos, from Brazil
Enrique has been injecting fresh blood into their back line, though. Lucas Beraldo, 20, has made waves since joining from Sao Paulo in January, stepping out from the centre or left of the defence and playing line-breaking, aggressive passes.
Nuno Mendes, 22, grew up as an attacking midfielder but his dribbling and crossing from left-back have been a boon for PSG in recent seasons.
Meanwhile Willian Pacho, also 22, has made a strong start in the heartbeat of the defence after leaving Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.
If you do work an opportunity, you’ve got Gianluigi Donnarumma staring you down between the sticks.
The towering Italian is one of the most prestigious goalkeepers in world football though his shot-stopping has sometimes been called into question after a series of gaffes.
Earlier this year he was accused by fans of ‘the worst goalkeeping performance’ they had ever seen after pivotal errors against Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, though PSG had enough firepower to progress.
Arsenal have home advantage tonight, but make no mistakes: PSG represent a fire and brimstone test of Arsenal’s potential in Europe this season. Win this and you’re one of Europe’s favourites. Lose and you’ve ceded psychological ground to another.