Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique said Arsenal fully deserve their Premier League title and is ready to face up to the ‘best team in the world without the ball’ when they meet in the Champions League final.
The London club saw their 22-year wait for the title finally end on Tuesday night when rivals Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
There were plenty of celebrations from Mikel Arteta’s squad, with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Jurriën Timber pictured at the Emirates Stadium during the early hours after thousands of Arsenal supporters had packed the surrounding streets to party through the night.
Arsenal will now regroup for Sunday’s last Premier League game at Crystal Palace, after which they will be presented with the trophy, before focus turns towards the European showpiece final in Budapest on May 30.
Luis Enrique is all too aware of the threats Arsenal will bring, but remains confident his squad can match them as PSG look to retain their Champions League crown.
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“I think they deserve to win the league — they have had a brilliant season,” Luis Enrique said at a news conference.
“We have already played against this Arsenal side [in last season’s semi-final], so we know what they are capable of.
“Without the ball, they are the best team in the world, and with it they can score a lot. It is a wonderful combination for them.
“It makes sense that we are facing them in the final. We can look forward to a truly great final.”
After three seasons finishing as runners-up in the Premier League, Luis Enrique feels getting the squad over the line this time is all credit to Arteta’s determination.
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“When you look at Arsenal’s stats, you can see that Mikel Arteta is a leader as a manager, who has instilled a winning mentality in the team,” Luis Enrique said.
“They have been improving for several seasons now; they love the ball, but they are the best team in Europe without it.
“They won the Premier League and they’re in the Champions League final this year after reaching the semifinals last season. They deserve to be there, and Arteta instils a competitive spirit in his players.”
PSG saw off Bayern Munich in the semifinals, coming through 6-5 on aggregate following a nine-goal thriller in the first leg.
Luis Enrique wants his players to concentrate on delivering the required performance levels against Arsenal once again.
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“The most important thing for us is to focus more on ourselves and less on the opposition. That is what we will continue to do,” he said.
“We are talking about the best club competition in Europe, so yes, there’s an element of adaptation — because the standard is very high.
“Bayern, for example, are a team who really like to have the ball, so we had to adapt, but I think we have managed to raise our game too and we are proud to be in the final again.”
PSG continue to monitor forward Ousmane Dembélé, who has a calf problem, while Achraf Hakimi is looking to resume training after his thigh injury.
