Arsenal welcome Luis Enrique and PSG to the Emirates Stadium for the second time this season on Tuesday night.
The Parisians arrive in N5 for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final as many people’s favourites to win the competition, having blown Liverpool away in the Round of 16 with some scintillating attacking football.
However, Arsenal just defeated Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate, with that result against the 15-time champions surely striking some fear into PSG.
Now, in his pre-match press conference, Luis Enrique has spoken about Arsenal, touching upon the atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium.
Luis Enrique heaps praise on Arsenal
The Spaniard is seemingly expecting a tough game, as he has showered Arsenal in praise ahead of the tie.
Enrique told L’Equipe: “They’re one of the best European teams, the coach’s work is remarkable. My team is the one I like the most, that’s why I’m sitting in front of you.
“We know how difficult it is to play against this team, in this stadium, with this physical intensity. Some will prefer Arsenal (to win) – that’s life.”
PSG have already lost 2-0 to Arsenal inside the Emirates Stadium this season, as goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka secured all three points in the group phase.
Enrique hailed the Arsenal defence after that clash, so you can assume the 54-year-old has been focusing on ways to dismantle the backline in his preparations for this game.
How PSG compare between now and that 2-0 defeat
Mikel Arteta should not be looking at his blueprint from the league phase win over PSG from back in October, as the French giants are a vastly different animal now.
They’ve improved a lot since we last played them.”
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is looking forward to playing PSG in the #UCL semifinals 💪 pic.twitter.com/oR21oZZJCP
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 28, 2025
On that day, Enrique, who Spurs once wanted, named Lee Kang-in as his central striker, despite the South Korean being more of an attacking midfielder, as the influential Ousmane Dembele was absent. The France international has netted 32 goals in 44 games so far this season, so he will provide a new threat for Arsenal to prepare for.
Furthermore, that 2-0 win came before PSG signed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli in January, the Georgia international who has taken to life at the Parc des Princes like a duck to water, scoring a rocket of a shot against Aston Villa in the first leg of the quarter-final.
Therefore, Arsenal must forget about that October clash, as Enrique has transformed PSG since.
