No Thomas Partey, big problem for Arsenal! PSG's majestic Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz are the best midfield trio in the Champions League

Kylian Mbappe's decision to move to Madrid last summer was a major blow for PSG, particularly from a financial perspective. Losing one of the most valuable players in the world on a free transfer was an undeniable disaster for the club's Qatari owners.

However, Luis Enrique repeatedly insisted that, on a purely sporting level, PSG could become a stronger, more balanced team without their talismanic forward, who accounted for 35 percent of the 124 goals they scored last season.

The Spanish coach has been proven correct. Despite losing Mbappe, PSG have once again reached the semi-finals of the Champions League - and while playing better football than ever before. Indeed, the state-sponsored, superstar-obsessed club that most neutrals used to revel in seeing come up with new and exciting ways to get themselves knocked out of Europe have now become the purists' favourites - not least because of their wondrous use of width and the impressive amount of devastating dribblers they've managed to cram into their starting line-up.

However, while the wondrous wing play of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia & Co. has rightly drawn plenty of praise from across the footballing world, their majestic midfield is arguably just as deserving of attention - particularly as its evolution has been utterly integral to PSG's transformation into one of the most likeable sides in European football.

When PSG and Arsenal met at the Emirates earlier this season, the visitors didn't look anything like potential Champions League winners. The game was as good as over by the break, in fact, after goals Bukayo Saka added to Kai Havertz's opener, and Luis Enrique was left lamenting his side's complete inability to put the Gunners under any real pressure whatsoever.

"Tonight, we were far away from the standards you need in this kind of match," the Spaniard told UEFA's official website. "I think we lost almost every single duel we contested."

However, as former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott pointed out after the 2-1 win over Madrid at the Bernabeu, PSG are no longer anything like the side they were at the start of the season: "PSG hadn't really clicked then," the ex-England international told Match of the Day, "but they have now."

And it was a win over another English side that proved the turning point in their 2024-25 campaign.

It's funny to think about it now but PSG were on the verge of an embarrassingly early Champions League exit when they hosted Manchester City on January 22. Had they lost at home to the 2023 winners, there would have been no way back for the runaway Ligue 1 leaders, as they'd only amassed seven points from their first six fixtures in the league phase, and PSG were 2-0 down after 53 minutes at Parc des Princes.

However, as Luis Enrique said, "something changed" in and around the club that night. PSG's new crop of exciting young players proved not only their quality but also their mettle as they went about ridding the club of its reputation for bottling big games.

The introduction of a revitalised Ousmane Dembele off the bench was key in that regard, while fellow winger Bradley Barcola also played a pivotal role in the fightback. However, as Pep Guardiola admitted afterwards, it was Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz that really decided the game, as PSG's midfield trio ran rings around Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic.

“They were better in the duels," the Catalan coach said. "And we could not cope with it as they were so fast. Everything happened in the middle and they had more players there. We could not control them defensively and that was the point: to defend we have to play and we could not keep the ball, or make an extra pass."

Liverpool and Aston Villa found it just as difficult to retain possession against PSG in the knockout rounds, and although both Premier League teams fared better in their respective home legs, they still couldn't find a way past the Parisians.

The primary problem is dealing with PSG's pressing. As Luis Enrique has proudly pointed out, whenever the ball is lost, his players never stop trying to win it back. To illustrate the point, seven players have won possession more than 68 times in this season's Champions League, and five of them play for PSG: Achraf Hakimi, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Willian Pacho. Unsurprisingly, Neves and Vitinha rank joint-first among midfielders, alongside Joshua Kimmich.

Neves has also won more tackles than any other player (31), while only Bayern Munich's Kimmich has completed more passes than Vitinha, whom Luis Enrique is now touting as the best No.6 in the world - and with some degree of justification.

When Luis Enrique was asked to name PSG's player of the season for 2023-24, it was widely expected that he would plump for Mbappe. However, he instead singled out Vitinha. "If you add up his qualities as a footballer, he is the best in the team," the manager told reporters last year. "All of the players are good, but he is exceptional."

And the crazy thing is that he's arguably been even more influential this season, with the 25-year-old having emerged as real captain material, not only for the way in which he dictates the game for PSG but also his leadership skills. It was Vitinha, remember, who declared after the 1-0 loss at home to Liverpool that PSG would go to Anfield and win.

Of course, Vitinha has been greatly aided by the addition of Neves, whom he says is "so easy to play alongside". It was clear during his breakout season at Benfica that the then-teenager was a player of enormous potential, which is why so many of Europe's richest clubs, including Manchester United, were linked with Neves. However, it was PSG who actually stumped up the cash to sign a player who grew up idolising Andres Iniesta, and their €70 million (£60m/$80m) signing is already looking like a bargain buy after settling so quickly into his new surroundings.

"Neves' attributes and abilities were evident at Benfica; we could see he was going to be a very important player for us," the former Barcelona boss said. "But maybe the adaptation period was faster than expected – usually it takes longer.

"But his characteristics match our ideas of playing with the ball and our ability to defend. That's exactly what we're looking for: players who are good with the ball and good in defence, and that's what he is."

Of course, the still strangely underrated Fabian Ruiz is just as effective in and out of possession as Vitinha and Neves. There are no real weaknesses in the Spain star's game. As La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente stated during last summer's Euro 2024 triumph, Ruiz is one of those rare talents that "knows how to do everything well at all times".

He did make a predictably sluggish start to the season due to his exploits in Germany, but has been back to his best in recent months, and it's worth remembering that a player that has been repeatedly linked with Arteta's Arsenal in the past was on the bench when PSG lost at the Emirates back in October.

However, Ruiz is almost certain to start on Tuesday for a team that bears little resemblance to the one which was rather easily swept aside on their last visit to north London.

Arsenal are, of course, entitled to argue that they've come a long way themselves since then, and despite losing several key men through injury too. But Partey's senseless suspension is a major problem for the Gunners.

"I think they're really going to miss him," Walcott said, "because the game is all going to be about the midfield." And, in this season's Champions League, there's been none better than PSG's.