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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Luis Campos' reaction to PSG getting drawn against Arsenal, Manchester City, and other massive clubs has gone viral. This happened during the UEFA Champions League draw, which handed the Parisians a noticeably tough draw, on Thursday, August 29.
The premier continental competition, run by UEFA, has been revamped massively, with clubs no longer being grouped into four. Instead, there will be a league table format with 36 teams instead of 32 teams. Also important to the new format, teams will play eight games - four at home and four away - rather than the traditional six games.
The draw was conducted in Monaco, with delegates from many of the participating clubs at the event, including Al-Khelaifi. They watched the entire draw, which was done by a supercomputer from UEFA, and the PSG president notably had one of the most shocked reactions.
At the Parc des Princes, the French giants will face Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Girona, and PSV Eindhoven. Away from home, they will have to look for wins against Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Red Bull Salzburg, and Stuttgart. The strength of their opponents had Al-Khelaifi and Campos staring in shock, as can be seen in the video below:
It will certainly be a tough set of games for the Parisians, who no longer have the shooting power of Kylian Mbappe in their ranks. They will have to ensure they can finish in the top eight after all eight games are concluded, as this will see them progress into the round of 16 directly.
Failing to beat teams like Arsenal could see PSG end up placed between 9th and 24th, which means they have to get through a play-off to progress. If they end up any lower than 25th, the Parisians will be knocked out of the competition.
When Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke about new UEFA Champions League format
PSG may have been dealt a tough hand, but something similar may be said for Arsenal. The Gunners have to face PSG, Inter Milan, and Atalanta, alongside other clubs like Sporting CP and Girona.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has already spoken about the new Champions League format, which will increase the number of games they have to play. Back in July, the Spanish tactician said on the club's official website:
“Yes, we’re going to have to prepare many more games. Our analysts and ourselves as coaches, we’re going to have very, very different demands...
"Because the preparation of games is going to be really short, so we’re going to have to maximise that time to give as much clarity and belief to the players to go and execute what they have to do to win the game.”
Arteta will hope Arsenal can beat clubs like PSG and Inter and potentially go the length of the UEFA Champions League this season.
