Arsene Wenger thinks his Arsenal squad is now much better equipped to make more of an impact in the Champions League.
The Gunners are in France ahead of Tuesday's opening group fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, which comes off the back of two straight wins in the Premier League.
Wenger thinks he now has the right balance in his squad to sustain more of a challenge in Europe, with new summer signings including Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Perez.
Asked if he thinks this squad will be more capable of competing in the Champions League this year, he said: "I think so, yes, because I was used to playing much younger squads when we built the stadium because we didn't have the resources.
"Now, today, I have a team with more experienced players.
"The squad is between 24 and 30 [years old] basically, that's where you have a good combination of physical strength and experience but we want to keep the fact we give a chance to young players and get the mixture right."
Wenger also confirmed that Arsenal are set to start contract negotiations with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
It has been reported that PSG tried to lure Wenger back to France on three separate occasions but the 66-year-old says he will always feel loyalty to Arsenal.
Asked why he turned down the approaches, Wenger said: "Because I love where I am and I know the owners well but I feel always I'll remain loyal to Arsenal Football Club because I think it is a club which has the qualities I love and that's why."
Arsenal trained in London on Monday morning before going to Paris and Wenger described the clash with PSG as a great test for his side.
He also downplayed suggestions that, as his current contract is set to expire in June, he feels more motivation to succeed in Europe now than ever before.
"Paris Saint-Germain, above all, is a good test for us because it is the team who is at the moment above everybody else in France and in France they always produce good football teams and good football players
"It is very interesting for us and exciting to come to this city and have a good level of comparison to where we are this season with everybody else.
"I just focus on the next game, I don't think like that. I think I have played over 170 games in the Champions League and it is the same every time, you want to do well in the next one and my personal case is not at stake in that at all."