Arsenal put in, easily, their worst performance of the season at the weekend against Manchester United. Yet, they came away with a point, as Olivier Giroud played his super sub role to great effect. Back in home environs, Arsene Wenger will expect a much better performance from his team when they host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
With both teams qualifying to the knockout rounds after four matches each, this game is a straight shootout for top spot.
Arsenal know all about the pitfalls of finishing second in a group, having drawn the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the last 16 in recent seasons. In order to break their cannot-get-out-of-the-round-of-16 hoodoo, Arsenal will know the importance of topping the group.
At home, Arsenal have been pretty impressive in the Champions league this season. They eased past FC Basel in their opening home match at the Emirates, before thumping Ludogorets 6-0. There have been eye-catching wins at home in the Premier League as well, so, hopefully, Wenger will not go for a conservative lineup, like he did against Manchester United.
Wenger went with Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny in central midfield against Manchester United to beef up the team's physical presence, while Aaron Ramsey was employed in an unfamiliar role on the left.
Those selections completely snuffed out Arsenal's creativity in midfield, with the club's first shot on target being the goal scored by Giroud in the 89th minute. While Arsenal suffered a little defensively against PSG in the Champions League fixture in Paris, the home fans will want their team to show more desire going forward.
After a tepid start to the season, with Unai Emery struggling to inculcate his playing style to his players, PSG have improved considerably, and they will be expected to pose quite a few problems, going forward, to Arsenal.
Had it not been for the profligacy of Edinson Cavani, PSG would have comfortably beaten Arsenal in their opening game of the Champions League this season, so Emery will know, with the team playing better now, chances of troubling the home team's defence will be greater.
Having said that, though, Arsenal are a much more cohesive unit now, not taking into account the Manchester United performance, and with Wenger's side showing some real menace at home, this promises to be a really entertaining encounter.
Champions League: Arsenal vs PSG schedule.
Venue: The Emirates in London.
Date: Wednesday, November 23.
Time: 7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm CET, 2.45pm ET, 1.15am IST (next day).
TV guide: India: Ten 2. UK: BT Sport 3. France: Canal+. USA: Fox Sports 1 and ESPN3. Canada: TSN4 and TSN5. Australia, Middle East, North Africa, Thailand: Bein Sports. Germany: Sky Sport 1 and Sky Sport 3. China, Hong Kong: PPTV, LeTV. South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport 3. Singapore, Malaysia: EuroSport.
