Paris St Germain coach Louis Enrique said tArsenal would be a tough nut to crack in Tuesday Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium, but he was confident of PSG reaching the final.
PSG had beaten all the Premier League teams they faced in the Champions League. First it was Man City in the group stages, Liverpool in the round of 16 and then Aston Villa in the quarter-final.
But Arsenal would be a different ball game for PSG, based on their performances so far in the Champions League, they beat PSG 2-0 in the group stages, thrashed PSV 9-2 on aggregate and humbled cup holders Real Madrid 5-1 aggregate in the quarter-final.
“Is Arsenal the best team we have come up against? One of the best teams, yes, without a shadow of a doubt. They are second in the Premier League and that has been the case for the past three seasons,” Enrique said ahead of the match.
“We have seen some remarkable work here at Arsenal with a coach that has now been here for six years. I don’t know if it is the best team, but it is certainly one of the best teams (that PSG have faced).
“But I would like to remind you that Arsenal has not won the Champions League before, and only one of us will get the ticket to the final over the two legs. I hope that will be PSG,”
Asked about PSG’s defeat by Arsenal in October, Enrique added “That was seven or eight months ago. I saw the match again. We’re a much better team today.
“We had a very intense group phase, with a lot of games that could have been finals. So I think that made things difficult because we were in a difficult position, but it has made us much stronger, and we are more complete.
“These are Champions League semifinals, but they’re still two games between two teams with the same goal. The key will be managing the pressure.”
