Arsenal’s season rests on their potential success in the Champions League.
The Gunners have missed out on the Premier League title again, with a rampant Liverpool side running away with it and securing the silverware with four matches left to play.
Thus, Europe’s elite competition is the only trophy left on offer for Mikel Arteta’s team, and there is certainly some pressure on them to bring the elusive winners medals to the Emirates.
PSG await Arsenal in the semi-final, with the first leg set to take place in N5 on Tuesday night, before the North Londoners travel to the French capital to face Luis Enrique’s side at the Parc des Princes next week.
A place in the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan awaits the winners.
Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly weren’t born the last time Arsenal were in a Champions League final
Arsenal will by vying for a place in their first Champions League final since 2006 when they take on PSG.
The Gunners have only reached that stage once in their history, with Arsene Wenger’s side defeated 2-1 by Barcelona in Paris 19 years ago.
Arteta’s team are intent on writing history and securing the club’s progression to the summit match in club football.
For an institution of Arsenal’s stature, this European record simply isn’t good enough and doesn’t reflect where the Gunners ought to be in the reckoning on the continent.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is likely to start against PSG, while Ethan Nwaneri could feature in some capacity off the bench.
Neither of the two teenagers were born the last time the North London outfit reached the Champions League final, which shows the significance of this game and how rarely it comes about for the club.
An entire generation of Arsenal fans have now not witnessed the club in a major European final, and the players will be desperate to put that right.
Arsenal’s youthfulness could be key to Champions League success
Such youthfulness can breed fearlessness, and Arsenal will need this lack of fear for the moment to reach the final and win the competition.
Older players who are more aware of the enormity of the occasion could wilt under the pressure, while Arsenal’s two Hale End superstars will be up for the event and ready to write their own history.
However, it’s not just the soft factor side of things that makes Arsenal’s young exuberance important.
While PSG also flaunt a youthful roster, the bulk of the Gunners’ squad is under 25 and boasts an energy that could really play into how they approach the tie.
Young and hungry, and ready to run flat out for 90 minutes to enact their dogmatic manager’s style of play, Arsenal’s youth will be essential.
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