Ousmane Dembele: Luis Enrique explains shock PSG omission as Arsenal handed Champions League boost
Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique says he has the club’s full support after he sensationally axed Ousmane Dembele for Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Arsenal.
Dembele has been left out of PSG’s travelling squad after reports in France claimed he was involved in an argument with Enrique after Friday’s 3-1 win over Rennes in Ligue 1.
Enrique would not go into detail on any issue when pressed about it on Monday night, insisting that he did not want to “create a soap opera”, but stressed there had not been a major fallout.
Dembele has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, scoring four goals and chipping in with the same number of assists in six Ligue 1 games.
The winger, however, will now play no part against Arsenal when PSG travel to the Emirates Stadium in the new Champions League league phase on Tuesday night.
“If someone doesn’t comply or respect the expectations of the team, it means they are not prepared to play,” said Enrique.
“The match tomorrow is very important and I want all my players to be ready, so as a consequence I have left him (Dembele) out. I want the best for my team and that is my job.
“These circumstances are difficult and you have to take difficult decisions. But I am 100 per cent engaged with my decision, and 100 per cent cent sure of the decision I have made.
“It doesn’t mean this is irreversible, but I took the best decision for the team and that is why I signed here, to create a team that has a strong identity and has a lot of character.
“I was also hired to win titles. I cannot guarantee that. But I can guarantee the rest, which is playing with a strong identity. The day I cannot do this I will go home.
“I have the support of the club’s president and the sporting director. I am here to create a team and in the future that might include Ousmane Dembele, just to be clear.”
Asked to explain the incident with Dembele, Enrique replied: “I am very honest and I will be honest, but I am not going to create a soap opera out of this.
“There are no problems between us. That is completely false. This is simply about the responsibilities of the player.”
The match against Arsenal will see Enrique go head to head with Mikel Arteta, whom he knows from his playing days at Barcelona.
Arteta was coming through the youth ranks when Enrique was a first-team player at the Camp Nou and the Arsenal boss has thanked him for his support.
Enrique believes Arteta has turned into a brilliant coach and says Arsenal have the best defence in Europe.
“I spent a season with him at Barcelona,” Enrique said of Arteta. “He was a very young player, but he was in the first-team squad.
“He has had a great start to his coaching career and it will be a great pleasure to chat to him tomorrow, even if it is just for five minutes before the start of the game.
“He is one of the best coaches on the market at the moment. He changed Arsenal’s fortunes from a somewhat winless streak to one of the best teams in the world that is competing for titles.
“I would go as far as to say they are the best team in Europe playing without the ball. He is a great coach and a great person.”
