Arsenal - PSG: the culmination of a work

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal and Luis Enrique's PSG could look in the mirror and recognize each other. Like Groucho Marx in Duck Soup. There's no better Champions League semi-final to avoid wearing colors and enjoy it neutrally with a huge bowl of popcorn. Two established projects. Two European classics that have never been crowned in the top continental competition. And two coaches who have Barça as their common thread. Arteta, who played at La Masia and then learned the secrets of coaching as Guardiola's right-hand man at City, and Luis Enrique, a champion of almost everything as a footballer and a manager who secured the Catalan club's most recent treble.

"It's one of the most important matches the Emirates has hosted since its construction," says Arteta.

"The two teams are quite similar, especially in the way we understand the game together. You can see that in how they attack and defend; they all do it together, they don't rely on just one player," confirmed Luis Enrique, who also drew from Pep Guardiola's influence as Barça B manager, yesterday.

The first semi-final pits two established projects against each other, but who have never been European champions.

The scenario of a semifinal is nothing new for PSG, who last year also reached the penultimate round, where they unexpectedly fell to Dortmund in a tie that broke all shooting records. Their aim was off. Curiously, Mbappé's departure this past summer has brought out the best version of Luis Enrique's team, the bookmakers' biggest favorite for the title. Centering Dembélé and positioning him as a striker has been one of the keys to their success. "He's a leader and always leads by example. He doesn't just attack, he also helps us defend. He's also a very funny person, and everyone likes him off the pitch," Vitinha noted yesterday about his inspirational teammate.

"We are a much better team now than when we lost here in October," reaffirms Luis Enrique.

The statistics don't look good for the French side, who, after five matches against the Gunners, remain at zero wins. To find the last precedent, you don't have to go back too far. It took place last October, at the beginning of the group stage, when Arsenal proved far superior to PSG, defeating them 2-0. Those were different times. "There are many differences compared to that match; I think we're much better now, and we've proven it. We've evolved and are a more complete team," Luis Enrique agreed.

Despite having officially said goodbye to the Premier League, Arsenal are heading into this semi-final in a frenzy. The endorsement of eliminating Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, and the way they did so, is already a statement of intent. Furthermore, the Londoners boast a spectacular 17-match unbeaten run at home in European matches. "I think this could be one of the most important games played at the Emirates since it was built," emphasized Mikel Arteta, trying to give the match its full importance.

As a final curiosity of the match, it's worth highlighting the English accent that this Champions League season seems to have adopted for PSG, who tonight will play their seventh match against a Premier League team this season, including their third consecutive knockout tie after eliminating Liverpool and Aston Villa.