Arsenal face brutal £59m transfer truth as PSG leave Mikel Arteta reality check

Since joining in mid-January, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has become a staple in the Paris Saint-Germain team under Luis Enrique. He has started 10 of 13 Ligue 1 matches and six from seven in the Champions League, only coming off the bench in the first one.

In that time he has scored four goals and assisted five. It is often his dribbling and flair that takes centre stage even more than simply his output.

The game's only goal came when Kvaratskhelia danced inside from the left flank and timed a pass perfectly to Ousmane Dembele with the outside of his right foot.

Picking up the ball in space, he took direct touches towards the Arsenal box and squared up Timber immediately. There was no time to set up, and Kvaratskhelia took advantage of Declan Rice being forced to double up on him as he found Dembele.

Rice has been criticised for leaving Europe's most deadly attacker free on the edge of the box in favour of shutting down Kvaratskhelia, but in a split second he made a decision and it is an understandable one.

Kvaratskhelia is one of the most aggressive forwards when it comes to taking on a man. He wastes no time in driving towards goal. In Ligue 1 he averages 2.17 successful take-ons per90 minutes as well as 3.37 final third carries and 2.72 into the penalty area.

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In the Champions League he is already into the top 10 for carries into the opposition box despite not playing until the last-16. Should PSG get to the final - as they are now well set to do - then a lot of his £59million price tag will have been repaid already.

Such has been Kvaratskhelia's impact at PSG - and he really does feel so perfect for this team - he has left Bradley Barcola to fight with Desire Doue for a place in the side. Dembele is now up front in an inspired piece of tactical work by Enrique, and PSG have three high-quality attackers to rotate on the flanks.

It is this sort of depth that helps to reach the latter stages of the biggest competitions and it is something that Arsenal have learned the hard way. They have been unable to balance the Premier League with a second half of the season cup run and Champions League progress.

Most have simply been unfortunate but Arsenal have been unable or unwilling to truly offer rest to their main starters for several years now.

When confronted with losing Gabriel Jesus in January, the decision was not to act. Kai Havertz's season ending hamstring blow a matter of weeks later confounded the problems. Arsenal were never going to be reactive and short-sighted in the market but they have had to watch on as other sides profit.

They now have genuinely top class reinforcements.

Manchester City accelerated their summer plans to buy Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush for almost £95million. Marmoush, in particular, has proven to be a brilliant addition.

This is not to say that Arsenal should have gone after these players or panicked, but every passing week adds to the narrative that they could have been more active. Raheem Sterling has done little of note for the playing squad this season after his summer loan, and even that felt like it was papering over cracks at best.

Arsenal needed a winger, a striker, and a midfielder last year. Those needs were exacerbated in January and the months following. They are completely impossible to ignore now.

It was Jason Ayto's job as interim sporting director - as well as the wider recruitment team - to assemble Arteta's squad in January after Edu Gaspar's surprise short-notice exit.

Plans are in place for what is to come but it will be of little consolation to Arteta right now because it cannot help him on the pitch. Instead, he had to endure a tough evening as Kvaratskhelia tormented Timber for the first half and helped earn PSG a valuable lead.