Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Arsenal and PSG have already comfortably qualified for the Champions League and with both sides on 10 points they will duke it out tonight to see who will get that all important foothold in the race to top the group and get a perceived easier draw for the first knockout stage.
These two sides met on Matchday 1 and it was honours even in the French capital with Arsenal snatching a late equaliser to snatch a share of the points. In a night where had Edinson Cavani actually bought his shooting boots Arsenal could have been soundly beaten. But The Gunners took full advantage of Cavani’s profligacy and made sure they took the opportunity when it was presented to them.
How costly will those two dropped points be for PSG? Well I guess we will only really find out when there group stage comes to a close but Arsenal will certainly fancy their chances of topping a Champions League group after Matchday 6 for the first time since the 2011-12 season
It’s fair to say that this isn’t quite the PSG of old as life after Zlatan has seen not quite steamroller all before them in the French League. They currently are in the unfamiliar position of 2nd with rivals Monaco currently topping the table by virtue of goal difference.
Hosts Arsenal are unbeaten since the opening weekend of the season and they have that record intact thanks to a late equaliser against Manchester United. Whether they deserved a point can still be argued but Oliver Giroud’s 89th minute goal meant that they came away with a share of the points.
In terms of league placing it keeps them in 4th but they have conceded ground to both Chelsea and Manchester City and once again have neighbours Tottenham breathing down their necks with them being a point further back in 5th place.
PSG are without Serge Aurier who was refused entry to the UK due to visa issues, the French said have said that the Home Office’s actions are unfair due to the timing but the Home Office are well within their rights as anyone non-EU nationals who have received a custodial sentence of less than 12 months within the last five years will be refused on criminality grounds
So as PSG have to make do without their star right back Arsenal will have to make do without their own as Hector Bellerin is out for 4 weeks with an ankle injury while compatriot Santi Cazorla misses out again due to an achilles problem.
On Saturday the focus was on whether or not Alexis Sanchez would be fit enough to start after a combination of a calf injury and travelling back from South American after international duty with Chile. Arsene Wenger rolled the dice last weekend and although Sanchez didn’t really make a mark on the game it looks like he will once again be trusted with a place in the starting eleven.
Reports suggest that Sanchez will be afforded a break next month so that he is kept fresh for a possible title run come May. Although Arsenal fans will be hoping and praying that he isn’t pushed too much in the meantime and then requires another spell on the sidelines. His injury at around the same time last year will still be fresh in the memories of many and they will hope their isn’t a re-occurance of the hamstring injury he picked up at Carrow Road 12 months ago.
If Sanchez ticks then Arsenal have got more than a decent chance of picking up an all important three points at The Emirates this evening. In their last Champions League run out they had to come from behind after giving Ludogorets a 2-0 head start. Mesut Ozil’s quite frankly stupendous goal wrapped up a stunning comeback to keep Arsenal top of the group.
A win tonight would get the job done with a game to spare as Arsenal would have the better head to head record over PSG, I have a sneaky feeling that win will happen and they will top a Champions League group going into the knockout stages for the first time in 5 years and in theory set themselves up for an easier draw in the Round of 16.
They’ve got half the job done with securing qualification but I think they will complete the job in front of their own fans with a close fought win tonight. I’ll go with both teams to score but Arsenal to edge it and secure the group top spot.
