Signings Would Put Arsenal in Good Position to Get out of Champions League Group

When Arsenal came out of the hat to discover they would face Paris Saint-Germain in Group A of the Champions League, they must have feared the worst. A pair of ties against the French giants do look hugely intimidating.

However, the fact they’ve been joined in the group by FC Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad will have restored the Gunners’ hopes that they can emerge from this stage to reach the knockout phase.

PSG are threatening to be an improved force this year. They parted ways with former coach Laurent Blanc in the summer, largely because of his failure to provide success in Europe, and Unai Emery was appointed as his successor. Blanc’s team cantered to the Ligue 1 title, winning by an extraordinary margin of 31 points, but that was deemed insufficient to satisfy PSG’s ambitious owners.

It’s easy to understand why the new man was appointed. Emery’s record in European football is outstanding; his Sevilla side won the Europa League three years in a row. In last year’s final, they beat Liverpool 3-1 in Basel, Switzerland, to secure a remarkable hat-trick.

PSG are desperate for Emery to bring that winning knack to the Europa League’s more glamorous sibling. Emery has insisted that European glory is not his sole aim this season, though, saying at a press conference:

The Champions League? Of course it is an important aim, but there are others. Expectations are very elevated at a big club like this, it is a club of winners. What is the limit of this team? There is none.

Our goal is to continue progressing, improving and growing. There is great optimism. With the current team, I think we can achieve big things.

However, given Blanc was effectively sacked despite domestic domination, the Basque must understand what’s at stake. His CV outlines him as a master of the continental game—now he must deliver on that in the French capital.

The club’s owner, Qatar Sports Investments, has backed him with significant spending this summer to help him achieve his goal.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed for Manchester United, but Emery’s teams have generally been more built on collective spirit than individual stars. He paid €30 million to bring Grzegorz Krychowiak from his former club. The …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com