Bukayo Saka didn’t hesitate when asked to name the best team Arsenal have faced this season. His side's season has once again been clouded by a familiar narrative - so close, yet just out of reach. The Gunners appear destined for another campaign of coming up short at the altar of success, their reputation as football’s perennial bridesmaids stubbornly intact.
Liverpool’s latest triumph dealt the final blow to their Premier League title charge, marking a third successive runner-up finish - a cruel hat-trick of heartbreak that suggests the final hurdle remains the eternal nemesis for Mikel Arteta's side. And though the north Londoners are just one win away from a long-overdue return to a Champions League final, their 1-0 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain has left them with a mountain to climb in the return leg this week.
They remain a side capable of outplaying anyone on their day - but when the spotlight demands something special, Arsenal often seem to wilt, like a flower that never quite blooms in May. Having also played the likes of Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester City, the battleground for glory has never been this tough. But there's one opponent that has towered above the rest for Saka - an unmistakable benchmark in a season filled with nearlys and not-quites so far.
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Arsenal now face an unenviable assignment if they are to reach the final in Munich after Ousmane Dembele’s strike sealed a first-leg win for Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants have come a long way since their 2-0 defeat earlier in the campaign - so much so that Saka now considers them the toughest side he’s faced all season.
"100% they were like a different team," said Saka in an interview with Sky Sports, when asked to rate PSG’s performance in midweek. "I know they only changed two players from the lineup against us previously but how much cohesion they have, how they flow, how they move the ball they were a lot better, and they impressed me to be fair," he continued. Watch the full interview below:
"I would say so probably yes [whether PSG are the best team he's faced]. They have a lot of threat up at the top end of the pitch and I think in the midfield as well they keep the ball really well and try and make you run. I don’t think anyone likes to run if I’m honest."
Saka scored the last time the two sides met during the league phase of the competition, but Nuno Mendes' rise to superstardom meant a completely different picture was painted in last week's encounter. Though the Englishman is one of the best wingers in world football, his opposite number put in a defensive masterclass that left neutrals scrambling to lift their jaws up from off the ground.
It might be solely the left-back's performance that left Saka feeling PSG were the best team he's faced. But while the task of going to Parc des Princes and winning by at least a two-score deficit might seem impossible given the way Luis Enrique has his team playing, the 23-year-old remains confident the Gunners can dig deep and find a way to punch a ticket into the final.
He said: "I think it’s important to stay calm but obviously we know we have another level to go, and I think we’re going to show it in Paris, and I’m confident we can turn it around.
"It was tough to find space, they put a lot of bodies around me, they defended well, and I’m looking at the space I can find in the second leg."