Paris Saint Germain head coach Luis Enrique has lavished praise on Arsenal ahead of this month’s Champions League final, dubbing them the best team in the world without the ball.
Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title on Tuesday and Enrique told reporters it was no surprise they had also reached the final of Europe’s elite club competition.
“We’ve got experience of playing against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, and we know full well how good they are on the ball,” he said on Wednesday.
“Off the ball, they’re the best team in the world, no doubt about it. With the ball, they’re capable of scoring plenty of goals.
“And it’s only natural to see them in the final. It’ll be a very tough final with two teams approaching it in two different ways. But I think we’re in for a cracking final.”
The PSG boss stressed the importance of pressing and defending ahead of the Champions League final in Budapest on 30 May, highlighting star forward Ousmane Dembele’s work rate.
“He defends all the time, no matter the match or the minute,” the Spanish manager said.
“It’s important to have him because we tend to always highlight what the forwards do when they score goals or provide assists, but we don’t highlight enough what he does as a defender. When a team doesn’t have the ball, you have to defend.”
