After Liverpool's Day in the Sun and Manchester City who book their annual place in the FA Cup final, it now feels like Arsenal's turn. At one point Mikel Arteta and his team will have to win something.
The Emirates looked a spring treat when Paris Saint-Germain arrived to train. The French capital does not look better this week. The immediate task of Arsenal is to ensure that it all feels a bit different when the first stage of this semi -final starts tonight.
It all turned out to be too much for Real Madrid in the last eight here earlier this month. A sizzling atmosphere, the right foot of Declan Rice and Real's weaknesses combined to give the Gunners a 3-0 advantage that they never looked like giving up. Now they have to find a way to do it again.
They certainly have it in them, and Arteta saved the right tone. It was one of optimism and faith and, especially of everything, pleasure.
“Bring your boots with you,” said the Arsenal manager, as he begged maximum involvement of the Emirates -mixed. If his side manages this, it can be one of the most memorable quotes of the season.
As he had before the draw with Real, Arteta spoke about writing history here. His winger, the talented Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli, described this as the biggest evening of his career. Some may say it is all a bit dizzy. After all, this is a semi-final. It is not even the last obstacle between a modest season that becomes an unforgettable.
However, it worked for Arteta against the Spanish champions. He was in the technical area that night and saw the European champions wilt in the face of the pressure exerted by his team. It is then completely logical to return to themes that have already worked.
“It is the biggest game that the Emirates have seen since we built it,” said Arteta. 'We make a beautiful history, but want so much more.
'We saw the way we approached the Real Madrid game. We will not change who we are. We must continue to the field convinced that we will beat them. '
Luis Enrique's PSG is a very good side, especially on their own land. They are now a real team, instead of the collection of individuals who have found different ways not to win the Champions League over the past decade.
The spirit of the collective and the cohesion that brought them have made them a much formidable opponent than in days of yesteryear.
However, they are not invincible. They are not unbeatable. In the meantime, Enrique wore a whole bag of chips on his shoulders while he sat and brushed for the traveling French media here.
Years at the top of the game as a player for Real and Barcelona and then as a coach of Barca and Spain, the 54-year-old manager of the type of analysis and research that follows great personalities should have really made. Apparently not.
“Whatever I say, you will criticize me,” said Enrique. The manager of PSG – whoever he is – will always bear the burden of the Champions League expectations. The French champions have never won the biggest prize of European club football and that feeling of inferiority follows them everywhere as a cheap perfume.
Enrique refused to admit that the English Premier League is the best in Europe, but at the same time he tried to make it a lot of the fact that his team has already eliminated his new Liverpool champions.
What he did not discuss in detail was the fact that Aston Villa – seventh in the Premier League – gave them a great fear in Birmingham while his side squeezed 5-4 into an aggregated.
Perhaps that quarterfinals tie showed us the best and the worst of the Enrique team. Sometimes brilliant in Paris, where the flying wide players Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Done were beautiful, they were vulnerable a week later in coughing a 2-0 lead in Villa Park to lose 3-2.
That is usually a dangerous combination in Europe and arsenal must be encouraged. The way in which the Arteta team – 2-0 winners on PSG in London in the group stage last October – has lost weight in the Premier League, will concern the Gunners manager.
Those who suggest that it has only been a by -product of too much focus on this competition are wrong. The malaise started in February.
Nevertheless, Arsenal will have taken over so much from what they really did and there should be no sense of hesitation now.
Given the dominance that PSG enjoyed at home with Villa and indeed to Liverpool – from whom they were able to lose in one way or another after enjoying all the possession and opportunities in Paris – Arsenal may have the feeling that they should win and that should do a lot for the spectacle.
“It's a moment to say,” This is who we are, “added Arteta, who only failed to produce a real drum to pop. 'We want to play with that mentality. The players know everything. Now it's all about, where are their limits? How far can they go? '
After having won their own domestic competition before Liverpool, the Hunne won – they are 20 points free from the second place Marseille with three more games left – the form of PSG has fallen a bit. They only won one of their last four games and lost 3-1 at home on Nice on Friday.
Perhaps that has contributed a bit to Enrique's striking mood. Anyway, the contrast between the two managers was grim. However, there is another difference between the two men. Enrique has the French title, while Arteta looks like he is about to collect a third consecutive Premier League.
Potential continues to seep from Arsenal pores, but at some point it must be realized. The Arteta team is without trophy in five years. The clock ticks on that. This is perhaps a special evening in the history of Arsenal – but only if they win.