the real reasons for the sidelining of Dembélé by Luis Enrique

Sanctioned by Luis Enrique, Ousmane Dembélé did not participate in Paris Saint-Germain’s defeat against Arsenal (0-2) during the second day of the Champions League. If the French winger will quickly reintegrate the Ile-de-France group in training, the coach wanted to mark the occasion after two small events, including a delay to training.

Beaten by Arsenal this Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium (0-2), PSG missed its first real shock of the season in the Champions League. Beyond tactical choices which did not bear fruit, Luis Enrique’s management of Ousmane Dembélé raised questions on the sidelines of the duel against the Gunners.

Not summoned for the trip to London and sanctioned for disciplinary reasons by the Spanish technician, ‘Dembouz’ should nevertheless quickly return to the Ile-de-France group for the Ligue 1 clash against Nice this Sunday.

A lively exchange during half-time of PSG-Rennes

The sidelining of Ousmane Dembélé, revealed Monday by RMC Sport, is primarily due to a sporting issue. Against Arsenal, Luis Enrique absolutely wanted the players to show their best face and repeated this to them last week in training. As the Spaniard explained to the press, Ousmane Dembélé did not respect “his obligations towards the team”.

More concretely, Luis Enrique criticized the winger for his individualism around the penalty area during the first period of the match against Rennes in the championship (3-1). The technician even made a new refocus during the break and the tone rose between the two men. The coach took this exchange very badly, presented to RMC Sport as lively and direct but without insult. This is the main reason for the sidelining of Ousmane Dembélé in the Champions League as revealed on Monday.

Dembélé late for training, the group surprised by his absence

Meanwhile, during the weekend, the French player also arrived late for PSG training, as indicated by Foot Mercato and confirmed by RMC Sport. A behavior which ended up convincing Luis Enrique not to take him for the trip across the Channel.

A decision by the coach which caused some surprise in the Ile-de-France group. Among the players, there was the feeling that they were going to play the most important match of their start to the season without the most talented player in the squad and for a questionable reason. The management of the club and the sports advisor, Luis Campos, had no other choice but to side with that of coach Luis Enrique.