A big absentee but also a lot of returns. Five exactly with the presence this Monday at the end of the day on the pitch of the Emirates Stadium of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Asensio, Nuno Mendes, Désiré Doué and Vitinha on the eve of Arsenal – PSG counting for the regular phase of the Ligue champions. For various reasons, this quintet was unable to appear on the scoresheet on Friday at the Parc des Princes in the Ligue 1 meeting between the capital club and Rennes, punctuated by a domestic success (3-1). Under a fine drizzle and in good spirits, the entire troupe appeared in full at 6 p.m. local time, 7 p.m. in France, starting the session with a giant toro peppered with bursts of laughter.
Without Ousmane Dembélé, of whom he voluntarily deprives himself, Luis Enrique will have to innovate once again while he is a fan of a permanent rotation, philosophy and necessity due to an overloaded schedule. In goal, the Italian goalkeeper will return to his place after three matches played by his understudy Matvey Safonov (Girona, Reims, Rennes). The defense should also resemble the typical quartet with Achraf Hakimi on the right, Nuno Mendes on the left side and the South American hinge made up of the Brazilian Marquinhos and the Ecuadorian Willian Pacho.
The probable composition of PSG : Donnarumma (g) – Hakimi, Marquinhos (cap.), Pacho, Nuno Mendes – Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha or Ruiz, Neves – Kolo Muani, Lee, Barcola.
It is in midfield that the Asturian coach has the greatest choice. If Vitinha were to resume his place as sentinel, one of the three starters lined up against the Bretons would have to be removed. João Neves, given his current form, seems the strong, untouchable man. Warren Zaire-Emery brings an impact that others do not possess. The last place should therefore be disputed between the Portuguese and Fabian Ruiz.
Up front, the other strong man is Bradley Barcola, the team’s current top scorer with six goals. As usual, he will take his place on the left side of the offensive animation. Ousmane Dembélé left in Paris, two men are competing to occupy his role. As in Reims (1-1) in the championship, the Spanish coach could prefer to start Randal Kolo Muani on the right of the attack. It would then remain to find the tip or the false number 9, a function assigned to Kang-In Lee last Friday against Rennes. The South Korean took the opportunity to score his third goal of the season. Despite less playing time than the others, he ranks just behind Barcola and Dembélé.
