TThere can be a feeling of existential drift in the squash ladder format of the new UEFA Champions League, a feeling of neglect that football is happening just because the money says it has to happen. But you can only beat the 35 teams in front of you and that in itself was a very good win for Arsenal.

It was also something new, a 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in front of a boisterous crowd, but also a win against the French champions that is still essentially a milestone and a warm-up for other things. The only way to get out of this entirely in the first phase is to finish 24th or lower in a 36-team table that also includes Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava. The richer clubs wanted this, a chance to constantly play against each other and always have a good time. The product passed here properly. But for Arsenal it was still educational in its own way.

They kept a clean sheet. Mikel Merino made his debut as a substitute. Bukayo Saka was outstanding in a close game against a good defensive team. And the two goals in the first half both came from remarkable actions. The first goal came with a powerful header from center forward Kai Havertz. It was beautifully done, Leandro Trossard moving the ball through the left channel, waiting for the figures to line up and then directing the perfect diagonal cross into the path of Havertz’s stealth run behind the defensive line.

Havertz can romp around the field like a medical student on a fun run. He may have the pale good looks of a Jane Austen minor character, riding away on a horse after an unsuccessful marriage proposal. But he is also very good in the air. And that was a wonderful piece of skill and physicality, the jump took him up and also through Gianluigi Donnarumma and in the same movement he nodded the ball into the empty goal behind. It was Havertz’s third goal in the last week, all poaching matters. He is now a leader on this team.

The second part after 35 minutes was very funny in its own way. On the morning of the game, L’Équipe had published a deconstruction of Arsenal’s set-piece danger, concluding with a slightly dismissive wave of the hand that such a thing was fortunately “made for the Premier League”, where “the refereeing… body is rather permissive”. OK. Let’s see how this all turned out.

The goal came from Saka’s free kick on the right touchline. Arsenal’s five attackers were bunched together at the back post. Just before the ball was floated in, they began a straight-ahead run with their knees raised theatrically, like sailors in a musical about to hoist the rigging. The PSG defense seemed mesmerized by this and were horrified that such subterfuges could exist. Saka shot in the free kick, Trossard swung a foot and the ball flew through the crowd without being touched.

Dark Arts. Voodoo ball. Guys walk in a line. What will they come up with next? But here too there was planning. PSG had been instructed to mark zones. And honestly, they just really, really wanted to obey those orders no matter what, even if it doesn’t make sense because all the people who want to score run the other way.

And best of all, Arsenal delivered a welcome bit of game management here. Getting a 2-0 lead after 35 minutes was important, as was the ability to maintain that lead. There may be a little problem with the way they win. Intensity is the default setting. This team drives at top speed all the time, doesn’t have a gear down, doesn’t cruise. As a result, Arsenal insert themselves into almost every game as if they were a hot dog to a starving man. And until tonight they hadn’t won more than a few games in apparently straightforward fashion since April. There is so often drama, a depletion of emotional energies. Games stay alive until the last 10 minutes.

Luis Enrique was present here in shiny lace-up shoes and a black suit, the look of a haunted undertaker. It was a pleasant change to see the opposition manager fussing on the touchline as time ticked away and Arsenal defended a lead that always felt secure. This is of course PSG in its post-star phase. From France it is said that it is now more of a team. Yes: the most expensive group of players in mainland Europe is now deigning to actually be a team. And not just any team, but the team of all teams. We will now devote all of our plasticized project energy to being real.

This is undeniably a different unit, young and energetic with a more hometown feel. The test for Paris is as always: can you jog through the league and then sprint during the week when you need to? Based on this evidence, they basically found another way to mess around. They showed great technical ability when holding the ball. They created chances. They also looked a little toothless. For Arsenal, however, it was cold, sober and exactly the kind of win they probably needed.