If Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League last-16 first leg defeat to Liverpool put them on the map as a force to be reckoned with in Europe then their steel to overcome Arne Slot's men only reinforced their claim to be true tournament favourites. Arsenal learnt this the hard way last week.
In an even final four, Arsenal pipped PSG, Barcelona, and Inter as the bookies darlings but within four minutes of the semi-final starting at the Emirates Stadium, Luis Enrique's side showed exactly why that faith may have been misplaced. They scored a brilliant goal at the end of a 26-pass sequence. Arsenal had only completed nine by the time Ousmane Dembele put the French giants ahead.
For Enrique, this was yet another serious statement. They had already outplayed Liverpool in Paris, only to be denied by a superhuman goalkeeping display from Alisson. They started quickly at Anfield and calmed the ferocious atmosphere to level the tie within 11 minutes.
The plan in north London was much the same. PSG didn't just play keep-ball but they zipped it about, moving Arsenal and toying with them in front of their own fans. They added immediate nerves to the ground after a major outpouring of excitement in the biggest game there for 16 years. They cooled the cauldron and brought their own noise.
In the process, PSG would earn their first leg advantage with nothing else to separate the teams after 90 minutes. The macho celebrations that came from Marquinhos and Gianluigi Donnarumma after big saves and important blocks were as emotive as it got. In the same way that the tie being at half-time allows Arsenal to hope, PSG know they have a job to do.
Enrique emits this when he speaks. He is a frantic figure on the touchline, as is Arteta, but his players have self-assurance and calmness behind them when it gets down to business. That sort of relaxed energy has been a common theme at PSG for year but not always in a positive way.
Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi were all laid-back players who didn't bring the demanded intensity to pressing. They would warm up in a low-key manner and often wait for the game to come to them before getting truly involved.
Now with Dembele as the main attraction, there is a sense of togetherness and aligned goals in the squad. Enrique has got PSG to push up the field and close down their opponents in that organised, unified, football as an 11-player team sport rather than 11 individuals or three out on their own with eight doing the real work. And they now regularly suffocate defences with their structure and relentlessness.
This was all there in the performance at N5 in the first leg. Yet, stripping it down and PSG still maintain that glamour card. Their pre-game preparations at Arsenal were basically laughable for any hyper-modern coach.
With less than half-an-hour until kick off, only their starting XI emerged on the pitch to prepare. Unlike the Arsenal end of the pitch, which was littered with cones and coaches, there was pretty much nothing for PSG. They strolled out in barely a jog, clapped their fans who had created a racket in the city all day, and then proceeded to do very little.
Laughing in the face of orchestration and meticulous preparation, PSG's players didn't go into any strenuous short sprints or stretches. They paired up and mostly just pinged the ball across the field.
In the way that Barcelona would often volley balls back and forth, not letting it hit the floor as creative masterminds take touches out of the sky and pick out their teammate without needing to move, PSG displayed total confidence and ease with the situation. They were about to play the biggest game of the season in front of a bursting crowd but that did not put them off.
Whereas Arsenal are a high-wired team under Mikel Arteta, PSG are still free-willed and unique in their expressiveness. Enrique conducts it all but here, his team simply enjoy themselves and are trusted to do their jobs.
Before 20 minutes is up, PSG's players return to the changing room and get themselves ready. There are a few shots, maybe a free-kick or two, and the odd short-passing exchange, but this is as far from a collective or normally cohesive warmup as it gets.
Regardless, PSG still kicked into gear immediately after the whistle and combined the flowing quality of their players' talents with Enrique's methodic tactical instructions. The second leg will no doubt be the same. Arsenal's challenge is to somehow disrupt this and to make it count. PSG will remain unfused no matter what.
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