Signings Would Put Arsenal in Good Position to Get out of Champions League Group

When Arsenal came out of the hat to discover they would face Paris Saint-Germain in Group A of the Champions League, they must have feared the worst. A pair of ties against the French giants do look hugely intimidating.

However, the fact FC Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad joined them in the group will have restored the Gunners' hopes that they can emerge from this stage to reach the knockout phase.

PSG are threatening to be an improved force this year. They parted ways with former coach Laurent Blanc in the summer, largely because of his failure to provide success in Europe, and Unai Emery was appointed as his successor. Blanc's team cantered to the Ligue 1 title, winning by an extraordinary margin of 31 points, but that was deemed insufficient to satisfy PSG’s ambitious owners.

It’s easy to understand why the new man was appointed. Emery’s record in European football is outstanding; his Sevilla side won the Europa League three years in a row. In last year’s final, they beat Liverpool 3-1 in Basel, Switzerland, to secure a remarkable hat-trick.

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PSG are desperate for Emery to bring that winning knack to the Europa League’s more glamorous sibling. Emery has insisted that European glory is not his sole aim this season, though, saying at a press conference:

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The Champions League? Of course it is an important aim, but there are others. Expectations are very elevated at a big club like this; it is a club of winners. What is the limit of this team? There is none.

Our goal is to continue progressing, improving and growing. There is great optimism. With the current team, I think we can achieve big things.

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However, given Blanc was effectively sacked despite domestic domination, the Basque must understand what’s at stake. His CV outlines him as a master of the continental game; now he must deliver on that in the French capital.

The club's owner, Qatar Sports Investments, has backed him with significant spending this summer to help him achieve his goal.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed for Manchester United, but Emery’s teams have generally been built more on collective spirit than individual stars. He paid €30 million to bring Grzegorz Krychowiak from his former club. The Pole should add steel to the midfield, while signing Jese Rodriguez from Real Madrid should give them some of the firepower they need to replace Ibrahimovic’s iconic contribution.

It's also a huge tie for Arsene Wenger. The Gunners boss will return to France to face the best his native country has to offer. What’s more, Paris was the scene of Arsenal's Champions League final defeat in 2006. The away fixture is bound to bring back some painful memories.

If PSG look like daunting opposition, Arsenal might hope to fare better against Basel and Ludogorets. The Swiss side will be particularly familiar to two of Arsenal’s midfield contingent, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka.

Xhaka is a product of Basel’s academy, while Egyptian Elneny joined the Gunners from the Swiss champions in January. Although they have dominated the Swiss Super League, winning seven consecutive titles, they have struggled to translate that form onto the European stage. Last season, they did not even reach the Champions League, instead being eliminated from the Europa League by Emery’s Sevilla.

FABRICE COFFRINI/Getty Images

Ludogorets are the minnows of the group. They have competed in the Champions League before—in 2014/15, they shocked the continent by qualifying for the competition and fared well in a difficult group. Although they did well to beat Viktoria Plzen and make it back to this stage, it’s difficult to envisage the Bulgarians progressing.

Arsenal will fancy their chances. The good news for Wenger’s men is it seems their squad will be significantly more prepared for the rigours of a European campaign by the time the Champions League kicks off on Sept. 13.

The Gunners have yet to win a Premier League game this term; their opening-day defeat to Liverpool showcased their defensive deficiencies, while their inability to break down Leicester City in the following fixture illustrated their need for a striker.

Both those gaps in the squad are on the verge of being filled. According to Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph, Wenger is close to completing a double swoop on La Liga for Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi and Deportivo La Coruna forward Lucas Perez:

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Arsene Wenger oversaw the biggest spending day of his 32-year managerial career on Thursday after a £35 million fee was agreed with Valencia for Germany centre-back Shkodran Mustafi.

The breakthrough in what have been drawn-out negotiations with Valencia followed a deal earlier in the day to sign Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez Martinez for £17 million.

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The news will be greeted with enormous relief by the Arsenal fans, who had grown worried they'd go through another summer with just one senior addition. It had appeared the Gunners boss was unwilling to spend the resources the club had made available to him.

Petr David Josek/Associated Press/Associated Press

However, if they can finalise deals for Mustafi and Lucas, they will have strengthened right through the spine of the side. With long-term injuries to Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck, it was essential that Wenger undertook work on the squad.

While Mustafi would be an improvement on Arsenal's other centre-back options, there are doubts over whether Lucas represents an upgrade on Olivier Giroud. He might not be the elite calibre of striker who would make Arsenal contenders to win Europe’s biggest prize, but he'll give Wenger's men depth and variety. Crucially, he has a different style to Giroud, preferring to run in behind rather than play with his back to goal.

Arsenal appear likely to strengthen their squad—and just in time. Their Champions League draw could have been more cruel, but they will need to improve upon last season's European performances if they're to deal with the threat of PSG.

Arsenal have made it past the group stage in every season of the Champions League since 2000/01. However, with this being the last year of Wenger’s contract, the pressure is on the manager to prove he can still take the Gunners into the competition’s latter stages.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.