Football Season Guide

Ligue 1 champions in each of the last four season, Paris Saint-Germain took the rather unusual step of firing head coach Laurent Blanc in the summer, despite the fact that he had led them to two consecutive domestic trebles. The pressure will therefore be firmly on the shoulders of Unai Emery, who has arrived from Sevilla to lead PSG, a club that has not failed to win any of the last six domestic trophies. Blanc’s dismissal highlights just how far about their rivals that PSG are. Instead, their focus has been built around performing strongly in Europe. Emery will be expected to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League as a minimum to match Blanc, yet the real goal of the club is to find a way into the last four before winning the trophy. While the Spaniard has European trophy-winning pedigree, he has never before been in charge of such a big club. No longer will PSG have the opportunity to call upon iconic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Edinson Cavani may depart before the end of August, too. That could provide the likes of Lucas Moura with more of an opportunity to shine. Hatem Ben Arfa was signed on a Bosman deal to add more than a hint of the unknown to PSG’s attacking play, but currently it would appear that they do not have enough scoring power to really excel in Europe. Grzegorz Krychowiak is a very sound addition to an already strong midfield corps and Belgium international Thomas Meunier replaces Gregory van der Wiel as an option at right-back. A big change is expected in goal, where Kevin Trapp is set to be axed with PSG youth academy graduate Alphonse Areola finally set to get his opportunity to shine. There are a number of promising young players who have been given a chance in pre-season, but while they are legitimate options, particularly in Ligue 1, the return of key men from injury and international commitments, plus the expectation on the club, means they are likely to be rarely seen.