Mikel Arteta continues to move dial – on this evidence Arsenal can conquer Europe

Manner in which Arsenal dispatched Paris St-Germain in Champions League suggests they are starting to shade Manchester City for versatility

If there is a single defining element of Arsenal’s sorcery under Mikel Arteta, it is that they can strangle the life out of even the most slippery opponents.
Control is the quality most often ascribed to them, and yet it feels inadequate in describing the sheer suffocation they apply. “Control is not really a word I like,” their manager said earlier this year. “I like dominance, and not allowing teams to breathe.”
This brisk, businesslike dispatch of Paris St-Germain, three-times Champions League semi-finalists in the past five years, was the perfect example of their oeuvre, with their pressing so relentless that it left even Luis Enrique’s players gasping for air.
Arsenal have flattered to deceive in Europe during Arteta’s five years in charge, with one Europa League semi-final a feeble return on the transformation he has wrought. Here, though, was evidence of him moving the dial once more.
This was the type of display to suggest that their restless thirst for glory on the grandest stage could be quenched sooner than they had dared imagine, as they neutered all PSG’s technical polish with a minimum of fuss.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the PSG president still desperate for 13 years of Qatari largesse to yield a first Champions League trophy, looked crestfallen, as if despairing at the chasm in class.
When you study Arsenal in this mood, the thought occurs as to whether they are starting to shade even Manchester City for versatility.
While Pep Guardiola’s tactical genius depends on his team monopolising possession, his protege Arteta is plotting an alternative path to greatness. Press high? Sit deep? Arsenal are perfectly happy to do both. And that is precisely what makes them so lethal, with this statement victory over the French champions a compelling testament to their capacity to switch systems as the occasion requires.
It was not an idle compliment when Enrique heralded Arsenal as the finest team in Europe without the ball. Whenever a player dares relinquish it, he treats it as almost a personal affront, pressing tirelessly to recover the initiative. In one of the rare spells where PSG were given hope of a resurgence, William Saliba’s positioning was perfect to lash the ball away from a lurking Randal Kolo Muani, all while barely breaking stride. Truly, his partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes is a sight to savour. It might be premature to anoint any centre-backs aged 23 and 26 among the greats, but their mutual telepathy has become the envy of any club in the world.
It might seem on the surface as if Arsenal’s brilliance is built primarily on their set-piece mastery. After all, Bukayo Saka’s fortuitous first-half free-kick, which bobbled through a panicky PSG defence and past a static Gianluigi Donnarumma without a touch, marked their sixth set-piece goal in just nine games this season. Except their threats extend far beyond dead-ball situations. Take their supremacy in the air, with a flying Kai Havertz showing all the courage and conviction he lacked at Chelsea to head in Leandro Trossard’s sumptuous cross (watch video below). Consider, too, the poise and energy of Jurrien Timber, the right-back fast constructing a case to keep Ben White out of the team.
Kai Havertz heads Arsenal into the lead 💥How about that ball from Leandro Trossard? 👏#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/Glzghe7GQm
Enrique was powerless to muster a solution. He had the best seat in the house to watch Saka turn Nuno Mendes inside out, and his exasperation suggested he knew PSG’s only hope of a comeback was to eke out a soft penalty. But the secret to Arsenal’s success is that they are no longer a team of soft touches. True, they might have lacked the ruthlessness to inflict further embarrassment, with Gabriel Martinelli a little casual with the volley that could have put his team out of sight. But for one night only Arteta had no need to quibble. He had come up against a formidable coaching brain in Enrique, a man 12 years his senior and an old friend from their Barcelona days, and he had outmanoeuvred him with ease.
It is seldom so straightforward with Arteta, of course. He is anything but insouciant in his touchline demeanour, permanently waiting to pounce on the slightest misstep. Still, he proclaimed himself “very happy” with the manner in which Arsenal swept PSG aside. It was not so much the difference in stature that struck you, with Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery looking positively Lilliputian against Thomas Partey and Declan Rice, as the gulf in intensity. Forced to adjust in the absence of Martin Odegaard, they have morphed from a team who cherish their possession statistics into one who thrill on the counter-attack.
Couple this with their insuperable defence – this was the 17th time they had not conceded a goal in 2024, second only to Real Madrid in Europe’s top five leagues – and you begin to appreciate how Arsenal’s quest to sweep all before them is anything but a delusion of grandeur. They can be both exhilarating and efficient. They contrive ways to win with or without Odegaard, their captain and talisman. And crucially, their confidence remains intact even when they are starved of the ball. It is an intoxicating combination – and there appears no limit to the rewards it could yield.