Top Spot in Champions League Group Is the Only Option for PSG

Regardless of how Thursday's UEFA Champions League draw went, Paris Saint-Germain, in Pot 1, were always going to end the day as favourites.

Matched against Arsenal, FC Basel and Bulgarian side Ludogorets, the expectation now is that they have to go on and top Group A.

Last season, when they were drawn against Chelsea in the round of 16, the belief was that they were more than good enough to beat Real Madrid to first place in the group, offering the Parisians an easier route to the latter stages.

Los Blancos had been less than convincing in both group-stage games but were helped by two inadequate performances from Laurent Blanc's team.

Unai Emery is now in charge, and despite some big-name departures—notably the Swede who shall not be named—PSG will still need to show progress. That doesn't necessarily mean reaching the semi-finals, but winning the group has to be the first objective.

Ross Mackiewicz, editor of PSG website 1970PSG, told Bleacher Report that expectations are very high this season: "For the first time in a long time, we have avoided a European juggernaut in our Champions League group. PSG can be happy with the outcome this time around."

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NEW! Unai Emery Making Waves So Far As #PSG’s Coach https://t.co/WopwChUDkg… pic.twitter.com/yLJhA6CZ7k

— 1970 PSG (@1970_PSG) July 29, 2016"

He also believes that Arsenal are the sort of team that Emery's side should be beating at this stage, with the other two clubs fighting for third.

"Don't get me wrong: Arsenal are a very good side, but I genuinely believe we outmatch them in every area. Without being disrespectful to Ludogorets and Basel, it will be out of ourselves and the Gunners as to who finishes top. The result at the Emirates will be key to that!

"We missed out on topping the group in previous years gone by to Barca and Madrid due to our losses at their grounds. Nevertheless, we cannot underestimate the other two clubs in the group. Basel have a European pedigree of their own, especially at home. But PSG should ease through comfortably."

It's easy to see why PSG fans feel this way. Arsenal have been eliminated in the round of 16 for the past six seasons. Since Qatar Sports Investments took full control of the French champions in 2012, Arsenal have never outperformed them in the Champions League.

In order to get the Arsenal perspective on the draw, B/R spoke to freelance journalist and Gunners fan Natasha Henry, who said, "It's hard to know what PSG can expect from Arsenal because the team is all changing as we speak. Wenger has chosen to do his business late in the day, so it will be interesting to see how the squad has changed by the first fixture.

"But you can guarantee a daring goalkeeper in Petr Cech and two fullbacks in Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin who are possibly better attackers than they are defenders. Laurent Koscielny is our No. 1 centre-back, but who knows who will start alongside him.

"As for the rest, expect to see Mesut Ozil whipping in crosses, Alexis Sanchez all over the pitch causing havoc and hopefully Granit Xhaka in the middle keeping everything strong."

The competition will start with a bang this term, with Arsenal travelling to the Parc des Princes to face the French champions in the opening group game, and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi believes those three games in Paris will make all the difference.

“It'll be at the Parc des Princes where we'll get great support from our fans. I'm certain that support will help us make the difference throughout the competition,” he told the official PSG website: 

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Whether it be Arsenal, Basel or Ludogorets, we'll have to approach each of our opponents with great respect as well as a lot of ambition and determination. During the group stage, our aim will be to win every game. We want to finish top of the group. I have total confidence in the coach and our players that they will achieve that. We're ready.

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Speaking to B/R, Swiss Super League expert and FC Basel fan Oliver Zesiger told PSG to beware of Basel. This Swiss club has ambitions to advance in this competition: "This year, Basel has assembled a deep and talented squad to compete in all competitions. They're dominating the domestic league, and the next logical step is to advance in Europe. But with Arsenal and PSG in their group, the task just got that much harder."

Striker Breel Embolo made his big-money move to Schalke, but the club has reinvested that back into the squad. Eder Balanta joined from River Plate, Mohamed Elyounoussi from Molde and Kevin Bua from FC Zurich. They have even added Seydou Doumbia on loan from AS Roma, so they are not to be taken lightly.

"The board is expecting the club to stay in Europe over winter," Zesiger continued. "This means Champions League or Europa League at the very least. The realistic expectation is third place, but they will certainly try to advance in the Champions League. And there's a chance. Basel have played and beaten Ludogorets multiple times, and they always did well against English clubs."

The fourth seeds, Ludogorets, are led by former Bulgarian international Georgi Dermendzhiev. He took over in 2014 and has been behind a lot of the club’s recent success.

They won the Bulgarian league at a canter last season, finishing 14 points ahead of Levski Sofia, helped by the potency of Romanian striker Claudiu Keseru. The 29-year-old scored 15 goals in 28 games.

PSG's scouts should know him fairly well, as he played for Nantes for two years, spent four seasons at Angers when they were in Ligue 2 and had a very brief spell at Bastia.

He has already started this campaign strongly, scoring twice in three league games. He will be the danger man, especially when PSG travel to Bulgaria.

Keseru scored 51 league goals during his time in France, and he'll be looking forward to his return in December.

To be considered as one of Europe's elite clubs, unless you are drawn beside another powerhouse team, you need to win your group. That's the minimum requirement.

PSG have always made noises about reaching the semi-finals, and that should be the aim, but it doesn't have to be guaranteed by Emery.

Once you are out of the group stages, you are at the mercy of the draw and where other teams have finished.

There is never any shame, as long as you try to put in the performances, of being beaten by clubs like Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, etc. It doesn't matter if that's in the last 16 or the final. What matters most is that you go out with your head held high.

Against Manchester City, under Blanc, that didn't happen. The star-studded side went out with a whimper.

Emery's first task is to win the group and prove that Arsenal are not in the same calibre of club as PSG. Then they just need to let their new brand of football do the talking.