Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal may now be established as regular challengers in the Premier League title race but they are in their infancy when it comes to the Champions League.
They returned to Europe’s elite tournament after a six-year absence last season, narrowly going out to Bayern Munich in the quarter-final.
Arsenal manager Arteta is confident his side has grown in maturity at this level armed with that experience and this was a promising performance against Paris St-Germain.
This is not the PSG of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar but they still harbour Champions League aspirations of their own, so this was a very creditable win for Arsenal.
It was a performance which showed two sides to Arteta’s Arsenal as they scored through Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka as a reward for their superiority in the first half, then showed determination and quality without the ball after the break as PSG posed more of a threat.
Arsenal had their moments of difficulty in the second half but this was a win closed out with plenty to spare, making it a very satisfactory night for Arteta and his players.
And there was the added bonus of seeing new signing Mikel Merino emerge as a second half substitute to get some action after the unfortunate start to his Arsenal career following his arrival from Real Sociedad.
Merino, who suffered a shoulder injury in his first training session after an accidental tangle with team-mate Gabriel, eased his way in but just the sight of another squad member getting some minutes clearly delighted Arteta and Arsenal’s fans, who gave the newcomer a rousing welcome.
Arsenal were not at their fluent best but there is a defensive resilience that makes them a formidable proposition and will serve them well as the Champions League progresses.