3 criticisms of Arsenal's approach to the draw with Paris Saint-Germain

Edinson Cavani scored the earliest goal Arsenal has conceded in Champions League play before Alexis Sanchez saved face for the visitors with a late equaliser to share the spoils Tuesday at the Parc des Princes in a Group A opener.

While Arsenal players and supporters alike may be pleased with a point from the toughest fixture in the group, there's plenty of reason to think that the north London outfit could have fared far better. PSG had lost just one of its previous 39 home matches in European competition, though on the heels of a slow start under new manager Unai Emery that included defeat to Monaco, the capital club hardly posed the threat it did with Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top.

Had Cavani been able to hit the broadside of a barn, the result could have been different.

Related - Watch: Cavani misses wide-open net against Arsenal

Here's a look at three areas where Arsenal cursed its own chances of taking a major step towards winning a Champions League group for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign:

Squad selection

When Arsene Wenger rested both Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny against a spirited Southampton on the weekend, the consensus was that one, if not both, would start Tuesday in the French capital.

Instead, Francis Coquelin started alongside Santi Cazorla, and the Frenchman picked up a yellow card before he had made a single tackle. Compound that with Coquelin's insistence to creep too far forward without function and it was a recipe for being caught out against the run of play. A match tailor-made for summer signing Xhaka, and the Swiss international looked on from the bench in bewilderment.

The bizarre choices don't end there. Cup 'keeper David Ospina, who had a howler last season against Olympiacos, was handed his first start of the campaign despite a League Cup tilt with Nottingham Forest just a week away.

To Ospina's credit, the scoreline could have been far worse were it not for some aggressive play by the Colombian international after the interval.

Alexis Sanchez is not a striker

Tireless Chilean spark-plug Sanchez started at striker in Arsenal's first competitive match of the season in a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates.

As unconventional as it was, it made sense. Olivier Giroud was on an extended summer break after a deep Euros run with France, Danny Welbeck was doing crossword puzzles on the treatment table, and Theo Walcott's experimental run as a No. 9 returned fruitless results.

Tuesday at Parc des Princes, Sanchez was given the start again, as Giroud and summer signing Lucas Perez inexplicably watched on from the bench. If there was ever a match that screamed out for a traditional striker capable of towering headers and hold-up play, it was this one. That being Giroud's specialty, the decision to start Sanchez was peculiar.

Taking nothing away from Sanchez, but he is better suited in an attacking midfield role, where his steadfast pace and energy would assist those behind him caught out against the run of play. Just 5-foot-6, Sanchez failed repeatedly to get on the end of crosses that PSG's back four struggled with.

It's not his fault, but that of a stubborn manager. One look at Sanchez's leveler proves the former Barcelona player is better suited to play in support of a striker and not as a main man, leaving him free to cut into dangerous positions.

Monreal is vulnerable against pace

Short on speed, Nacho Monreal was tasked with containing Serge Aurier's pace and probing runs, and it wasn't pretty. Alex Iwobi did little to help his full-back, tracking back with little purpose to leave the Spaniard exposed repeatedly.

Cavani's opener came from a deft cross from the Ivorian Aurier that Monreal could do little to contain, and even a brief glance at the goal shows how unorganised Arsenal was.

With a little more than 30 seconds gone, PSG second-choice shot-stopper Alphonse Areola played the ball long for Aurier, who laid it off for Angel Di Maria.

The Argentine then found an unmarked Marco Verratti, whose one-touch pass found a streaking Aurier. Monreal was never in a position to defend a cross, and even as he closed Aurier down, the PSG right-back had little trouble finding a leaping Cavani. 1-0 for the hosts.

In the opening half, Aurier had 88 percent passing accuracy, four crosses, one take-on paired with an interception, and an assist. Wonder why.

The Gunners will now head back to England ahead of a weekend tilt with Hull City knowing that there is plenty of work to be done. Regardless, a point rescued is a point.