From 2021 to 2024, Arsenal made significant progress with each passing season under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners' former captain has learnt a job on the fly, and after one-and-a-half seasons figuring out the kinks of management, he has become one of the world's leading coaches.
It's testament to the work Arteta's done that not only are Arsenal now consistently fighting for the game's most coveted prizes, but they are scolded and picked apart when they don't get their hands on silverware. They have missed out on the Premier League title again and head to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday looking to save their Champions League campaign. Luis Enrique's total-football side left the Emirates Stadium last week as 1-0 victors and have the upper hand heading into a second leg back on home soil.
Amid the disingenuous critiques of Arsenal, there are elements of fairer assessment. Though Arteta has essentially built this squad from scratch himself, should they have more than a solitary FA Cup - a team from which there are no longer any surviving starters - to boast about? Where did they take a left turn when they ought to have veered right on the path to glory?
Unless the Gunners pull off a remarkable comeback in the French capital, they will be under intense inspection again for going trophy-less once more. This meeting at Parc des Princes may have wider complications than first realised.
