Arsenal continue their Champions League campaign with a heavyweight clash against PSG at the Emirates Stadium tonight. The Gunners played out a goalless draw with Atalanta in their first of eight matches in the new league phase format, and will now be hoping for a statement win to really kick their European charge into gear.
Mikel Arteta’s side coming into the match after a dramatic win over Leicester on Saturday, scoring twice in stoppage-time to edge past the Foxes. It has been an impressive start to the season from Arsenal, who are on a 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to defeat against Bayern Munich in April. Ben White is unavailable for the Gunners, who name an unchanged side. Mikel Merino is on the bench and could make his debut.
PSG are still adapting to life without Kylian Mbappe but unsurprisingly still sit top of Ligue 1. The French side edged past Girona in their first Champions League match, and face a tough set of European fixtures with Bayern, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid among the teams they will face. Ousmane Dembele will not feature in north London after a falling out with Luis Enrique. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings and Dan Kilpatrick at the ground!
Kick-off: 8pm BST | Emirates Stadium
How to watch: Amazon Prime
Arsenal team news: Merino on bench; Gunners unchanged
PSG team news: No Dembele
Standard Sport prediction
19:14 , Matt Verri
Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique says he has the club’s full support after he sensationally axed Ousmane Dembele for tonight’s clash.
Dembele has been left out of PSG’s travelling squad after reports in France claimed he was involved in an argument with Enrique after Friday’s 3-1 win over Rennes in Ligue 1.
Enrique would not go into detail on any issue when pressed about it on Monday night, insisting that he did not want to “create a soap opera”, but stressed there had not been a major fallout.
Dembele has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, scoring four goals and chipping in with the same number of assists in six Ligue 1 games, but will play no part tonight.
“If someone doesn’t comply or respect the expectations of the team, it means they are not prepared to play,” said Enrique.
“The match tomorrow is very important and I want all my players to be ready, so as a consequence I have left him (Dembele) out. I want the best for my team and that is my job.
“I took the best decision for the team and that is why I signed here, to create a team that has a strong identity and has a lot of character.
“I was also hired to win titles. I cannot guarantee that. But I can guarantee the rest, which is playing with a strong identity. The day I cannot do this I will go home.
“I have the support of the club’s president and the sporting director. I am here to create a team and in the future that might include Ousmane Dembele, just to be clear.”
19:08 , Matt Verri
Can Arsenal rise to the occasion on a big night?
18:59 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes, Zaire Emery, Vitinha, Neves, Doue, Lee, Barcola.
Subs: Safonov, Tenas, Fabian, Asensio, Muani, Mayulu, Beraldo, Skriniar, Zague, El Hannach, Mbaye
18:55 , Matt Verri
Fair to say the sun is not shining in north London.
It’s been pouring down all day and that hasn’t changed as kick-off approaches.
Going to be a very, very slick surface.
18:50 , Matt Verri
Mikel Arteta goes with the same side that beat Leicester on Saturday.
It means Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori continue as the full-backs, with Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz as something close to a front two.
Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling on the bench, as is Mikel Merino who could make his debut tonight.
18:46 , Matt Verri
Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
Subs: Neto, Porter, Lewis-Skelly, Robinson, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Merino, Nwaneri, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Jesus
18:43 , Matt Verri
All the team news from north London coming up in the next couple of minutes.
Not expecting too many Arsenal changes…
18:38 , Matt Verri
It was a dramatic weekend for Arsenal.
They were 2-0 up at half-time against Leicester and in complete control, but then conceded twice to leave themselves having to pile forward in search of a late winner.
Two goals in stoppage-time ensured it was a successful afternoon for the Gunners.
18:24 , Matt Verri
Mikel Arteta has challenged his Arsenal side to prove they can fight for both the Champions League and Premier League this season.
The Gunners were in the hunt for both trophies last year, but crashed out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals and finished as runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Arsenal lost just two of their final 20 games across all competitions but came undone during a busy spell in April.
In the space of four days, they lost to Aston Villa, which left City two points clear with six games to go, and were defeated by Bayern Munich in Europe 3-2 on aggregate
They host PSG tonight and asked if his squad has the ability to balance competing on multiple fronts, Arteta said: “This is what we have to prove.
“Last year we almost went all the way. We came up short, so that is something we have to do better.
“We have to be involved in the cups much further too and that’s the next step we have to make as a team.
“We are going to find out, but we’re not thinking about (winning the Champions League) yet because we are still very, very far away and we have a difficult game on Tuesday night.”
18:17 , Matt Verri
Mikel Merino has been spotted with the Arsenal squad ahead of tonight’s clash against Paris Saint-Germain in a huge boost for Mikel Arteta.
Merino was signed late in the summer transfer window but has been unable to make his debut in the four weeks since after injuring a shoulder in his first training session.
A possible debut for Merino tonight would perhaps be a surprise, coming against French giants PSG, but Arteta has previously confirmed work will be done to make sure the player is ready to jump straight in when fit.
Speaking the day after Merino’s injury, Arteta told reporters: “Let’s use the time that we have, right now, to make sure he is familiar with everything that we are doing, how we live and what we expect of him, about our team dynamics.
18:07 , Matt Verri
A HUGE night of European football ahead.
This new format was designed to throw up more big matches in the early stage of the competition. Certainly have that tonight.
17:59 , Matt Verri
It’s undoubtedly one of the more difficult games Arsenal have been drawn but it’s difficult to see them losing at home, especially against an injury-hit PSG side.
The Gunners defence will have their hands full with the likes of Bradley Barcola, but a lack of out-and-out striker for PSG makes this a far easier task for the hosts.
Arsenal to win, 2-1.
17:53 , Matt Verri
PSG have left Ousmane Dembele out of their squad for disciplinary reasons, manager Luis Enrique said on the eve of the game.
“If someone doesn’t comply with the requirements of the team, it means that they are not ready,” he said on Monday.
“It means in such an important week, with such an important game coming up, we need every player to be fully available. My objective is to do the best for the team and that was my decision.”
Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe and Goncalo Ramos are injured, along with Gianluigi Donnarumma. Nuno Mendes will hope to return from illness.
17:43 , Matt Verri
Arsenal will again be without Ben White tonight.
White has missed the last two games due to a groin injury and did not take part in training on Monday afternoon. It means that Jurrien Timber will likely start at right-back again and Riccardo Calafiori should play on the other flank.
There had been speculation Calafiori could miss out after appearing to injure his hamstring in the final moments of Saturday’s win over Leicester- but he trained on Monday.
Mikel Arteta may name an unchanged side for the game with PSG, although Gabriel Jesus could come into the team as he started Arsenal’s last Champions League game against Atalanta.
Arsenal will be without captain Martin Odegaard for their match with PSG as he is still out with an ankle injury. Oleksandr Zinchenko is also out with a calf injury and Kieran Tierney is sidelined due to a hamstring issue.
Arsenal predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
17:35 , Matt Verri
TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s match will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video, with kick-off at 8pm BST.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch via the Amazon Prime Video website and app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action right here with us, featuring expert analysis from our Arsenal correspondent Simon Collings at the Emirates.
17:32 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Arsenal vs PSG!
It’s a heavyweight Champions League showdown, as the Gunners look to continue their strong start to the season on multiple fronts.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 8pm BST from the Emirates Stadium!
