Luis Enrique has warned Arsenal that there are “huge differences” between the Paris Saint-Germain side the Gunners beat in October and the one they will face tonight.
Arsenal beat PSG 2-0 earlier this season when the two sides met at Emirates Stadium in the league phase of the Champions League.
The two clubs meet again in the first leg of their semi-final and Enrique insists his side have made huge strides since then.
Enrique believes his team are now “very complete” and are ready to make history by winning the Champions League for the first time.
Here, Standard Sport looks at how PSG have evolved since their last meeting with Arsenal…
Dembele is back… with a bang
There were some notable absentees when Arsenal and PSG met in October.
The Gunners were without captain Martin Odegaard, while PSG were missing star striker Ousmane Dembele.
Ousmane Dembele has scored seven goals on PSG’s run to the Champions League semi-finals
Martin Rickett/PA Wire
The French forward was left out of the squad for that game by Enrique for disciplinary reasons, but he is now back in the fold
Dembele has been in red-hot form too, scoring seven goals and laying on three assists during PSG’s run to the semi-finals.
“Dembele is an essential player for our team, he’s an incredible player,” said PSG midfielder Vitinha.
“I think he is a leader and he leads by example. We can see this in the way that he gives his all. He is always 100 per cent in the game. We want to give our all for him.
“He is an incredible type of leader and in the dressing room, even when we are off the pitch.”
PSG young stars have matured
One of the things Enrique has done to prepare for tonight’s game is watch back the match from October.
PSG were bullied by Arsenal that night, with the Gunners outperforming the French champions in just about every defensive metric.
It was part of a difficult start to the Champions League this season for Enrique’s young side, who also lost to Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in their opening five games.
Nuno Mendes kept Mohamed Salah quiet and will bid to do the same to Bukayo Saka
AFP via Getty Images
PSG were able to recover, making it through to the play-offs by finishing in the top 24, and they have grown since then.
An impressive win over Liverpool in the last 16 demonstrated how far they have come and Enrique believes that their tough start in the Champions League benefitted his players in the long run.
“I think that the game you are talking about [with Arsenal] is a game that took place on October 1, so maybe seven or eight months ago now,” said Enrique.
“There are huge differences. I think we are better now than we showed at the beginning of the competition.
“During the league phase, we played games that could have been Champions League finals. This was a positive experience, because it meant we had to pull our socks up. Now we are a team that is very complete. Our next objective is to rewrite history and, for us, there is only one way to do that.”
Kvaratskhelia joined in January
PSG have moved away from their model of signing star players, but it can be argued that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia bucks the trend in that respect.
The winger joined from Napoli in January for around £60m, penning a deal until June 2029.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a £60m January signing from Napoli, will be a key threat for PSG
Action Images via Reuters
Kvaratskhelia has added yet more pace and trickery to a forward line that was already brimming with talent.
The Georgian has made his mark in the Champions League already, scoring in the last round as PSG beat Aston Villa.
He will be up against Myles Lewis-Skelly on Tuesday night and it promises to be a huge test for the 18-year-old.
The teenager has excelled this season after being promoted from the academy and tasked with playing at left-back, but Kvaratskhelia will be a tough challenge for him.
