“French” against Donnarumma, return of Dembélé, Arsenal… The truths of Luis Enrique

The return of Ousmane Dembélé : “As I told you at the time of the events, when a player does not correspond to the obligations (towards the team)he is not ready (the player was ruled out for the match against Arsenal on Tuesday in the Champions League, Editor’s note). But when he meets the obligations, he is ready. It’s true for all Ligue 1 players in fact… Will he be in the squad to face Nice? I repeat: each player has a series of obligations to fulfill towards the team. Those who do it are there. If someone doesn’t do it tomorrow, especially if they make a serious mistake, I make the necessary decisions. It can be an easy or difficult decision, but I have no problem making decisions that may seem difficult because I always think about the good of the team. I could be wrong, that’s yet another subject. But what is clear is that I will make the decisions, no one will do it for me, it is my responsibility as coach of this team.

Luis Enrique’s management : “I am tough when I need to be and more lenient when necessary. And that’s my great ability as a coach, but also as a person.”

On how he spoke to Margot Dumont after Arsenal-PSG on Canal+ : “I don’t really know what was said, I’m not in the habit of checking, listening to the press, reading… After a defeat, the first person responsible is me. I always try to protect my team, the players. I feel responsible after defeats. I’ve been in football for a long time. What I can’t control, I don’t try to control.”

Also read“No intention of explaining the tactics to you”: Luis Enrique’s contemptuous attitude towards a journalist

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If there is anyone responsible (after the defeat against Arsenal), and if you want one, it’s me, leave Donnarumma alone.

Luis Enrique

Gigio Donnarumma’s limits on aerial exits (and criticism after Arsenal) : “About Donnarumma, there are things that have been said for years, long before I arrived in Paris. A player’s past is always present in the news. But I don’t have a problem. In fact, I think there was no mistake by Donnarumma on the goals conceded in London. We should have resolved the defensive problem before the ball got to him. We didn’t do it. And it is he who pays the consequences… But I think that the fault is not that of a player on the field. If we have to look for someone to blame, and it’s obvious that you’re looking for one, it’s me, it’s the coach. I understood it, I have no problem with that. My career is full of these kinds of situations. I will overcome this through work and my ability to convince the players.

For the rest, it’s sad to only talk about one player after a defeat, regardless of his position. I’m used to people attacking Donnarumma, but what I see in training and in matches gives me confidence. If there is someone responsible, and if you want one, it’s me, leave Donnarumma alone. (…) We work on all the phases of play deemed important. We have two goalkeeping coaches who work on all game situations. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. But in the case you are telling me about, it is a defensive error by the entire team, prior to the last situation. Of course, every player can improve. But it’s ugly to go looking for someone responsible after a defeat. I understand that in football we only talk about the hero who won or the one who missed. When we concede a goal, you only see the one who shoots and the goalkeeper’s mistake but there are also players, in several places, who have made a mistake, a player who has been dribbled… But you only see the dessert then that you come to a meal. We must look at all the stages and not incriminate or praise a single individuality. We are still working on offensive and defensive set pieces, restarts… Sometimes things still go badly. Even when working, everything depends on the opponent. You can work 100 days or zero, there will always be mistakes.”

The youth of the community on display at the Emirates Stadium… or not : “No, I don’t see it like that. After calmly analyzing the match, the opponent was better on specific points of the match. He had problems too. If we played Arsenal at the Parc des Princes, I think the result would be different. But with the group we inherited (Atlético, Bayern or even City to follow in C1, Editor’s note), we will still experience situations of this type. I hope we come out positive each time, but I can’t guarantee it. The differences are small at the high level. These are the usual subjects, the journalists’ subjects, they are always the same questions, the theme of it is going well in Ligue 1 but not in Europe, you score in L1 but not in Europe, does PSG have a good reputation or not… We are not perfect, we will not be. We will work, we will improve. I am sure that this team will fight in all competitions throughout the season. And even in competitions where the opponent is at our level or higher, we will continue to fight because the state of mind is there.

Also readPSG: Talent, Donnarumma, Top 8… Lessons from the defeat against Arsenal

I may be wrong, but I am telling you very directly, without hiding: we are going to win all the competitions. It’s the mentality.

Luis Enrique

The gap with Arsenal and the best in Europe after rewatching the match : “I think we are very close to their level, almost at the same level in fact. It’s not my role to watch the press. Mikel Arteta has been in charge of this team for five years. Same thing for Pep Guardiola. For us, it’s been a year and three months. I don’t use that as an excuse. We were competitive last year. We will be again this year. Until someone proves me wrong, I think we will win every competition, that’s my goal anyway. This is why I get up every morning. I may be wrong, but I am telling you very directly, without hiding: we are going to win all the competitions. It’s the mentality. But in a process, if we talk about the difference with a team, a coach, a sports management who have been working for years, we are only at the beginning of something here.

Also readPSG: guilty against Arsenal, Donnarumma asks (again) questions

You want to know the tactics when you lose, but you don’t know that to explain the tactics, it takes 40, 50 or 55 minutes.

Luis Enrique

Lessons from the match against Arsenal before Nice : “Already, these are two different competitions, with very little in common between the two. Defeats can be positive because you realize who your friends are and who hates you. This is perhaps the strongest point to prepare for the next match. It hurts to lose, but I’m sure we will improve, improve performance. This is the objective of the season. We will continue to prepare for matches in the same way. You want to know the tactics when you lose, but you don’t know that to explain the tactics, it takes 40, 50 or 55 minutes. Tactics only interest you when you lose. When you win, no one cares about tactics…”

Willian Pacho : “Rather than individualizing things, I would like us to talk about the four summer recruits (Neves, Doué, Safonov and Pacho, Editor’s note). They were even faster than we hoped in terms of adaptation and level of performance. They are aware of the club’s requirements, of what is expected of them and I am very happy with them.

Nice : “They changed coach during the off-season, with Frank Haise, recognized and whose teams show a very clear personality on the pitch. They played on Thursday, with an unfavorable result (4-1 defeat at Lazio in the Europa League, Editor’s note). But I’m sure they will want to change things and forget this match against us. PSG is always stimulating for opponents. He is a very recognized coach, it will be very difficult to play against Nice. They have very strong pressing and never give the ball away, they are hard in attack, difficult to play defensively. It will be a complicated match for us, probably also for them.

Also readPSG’s notes at Arsenal: the limits of Donnarumma, Barcola and Doué harmless

When you have possession, you are in charge, and the opponent adapts.

The margin for progress with a view to C1 : “We can progress in all aspects. But it’s the same thing after a victory actually. Let’s be specific. This week, we worked on the start of the phases of play, we made videos on offensive and defensive set pieces after the match, rest on Wednesday and then, we worked on defense, attack, comebacks. ball, kicks and everything we deem appropriate to improve the level. But once again, we would have done the same thing if we had won in London, exactly the same thing.

Impose your game plan or adapt to opponents : “In general, it’s the opponents who adapt to us more because we have possession more often. When you have possession, you are in charge, and the opponent adapts. Depending on how they adapt, we must deploy one solution or another. That’s the difficulty of football: during a match, there can be different offensive and defensive scenarios. Let’s take the example of Nice. If they are behind, they will put in place high pressure, more than usual, even though they already have high pressure. For us, that means preparing for one-on-one, very strong pressing, six-on-seven, always maintaining superiority in defense… There are many different scenarios in a match. We try to prepare for all these situations, those which are repeated most often in matches.

Comments collected at a press conference