Arsenal visit the French capital to clash with PSG on Tuesday.
Charlie Nicholas has told Sky Sports that he expects Arsenal to hold Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.
Parc des Princes plays host as the Gunners visit the French capital hoping to mark the start of Group A with what would be an excellent three points.
And Arsene Wenger’s side go into the game on the back of a dramatic 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday, in which Santi Cazorla converted a last-minute penalty.
Wenger elected to leave Olivier Giroud – who won the penalty – and Alexis Sanchez on the bench at the weekend, but Nicholas expects the pair to return in Paris tonight.
PSG, meanwhile, do not look quite as formidable so far this season following the exit of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, winning seven points from a possible 12 in Ligue 1 – the same as Arsenal in the Premier League – and Nicholas fancies the Gunners will leave France with a point.
“Arsene Wenger took a risk in terms of changing his team again at the weekend, which I didn’t think was necessary, and he got away with it,” he told Sky Sports.
“Yes, they were fortunate against Southampton but they made the most of their luck and I thought one other positive was the way Shkodran Mustafi grew into the game.
“Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud should come back in to give the side a more familiar feel but, for me, Granit Xhaka has to play on Tuesday. You pay £30m because he’s better than Francis Coquelin, not to put him on the bench.
“PSG are not as good as they used to be when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was there. They drew their last game and lost to Monaco before that, so I’m confident Arsenal will score at least once and I fancy Theo Walcott to get on the scoresheet. 1-1”
Despite some up-and-down domestic form, PSG remain a threat, having reached the quarter-finals in each of the past three seasons – one more stage than Arsenal during the same time.
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny applauds fans after the game
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