New Delhi: Paris Saint-Germain will take the field against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League without Ousmane Dembele, with their manager Luis Enrique confirming the omission. Dembele has been in good touch, scoring four times from six Ligue games for PSG this season.
He was part of team that won their opening Champions League match against Girona and has been perceived to be PSG’s star player with Kylian Mbappe moving to Real Madrid in the summer. However, the 27-year-old isn’t going to feature in the game in Emirates Stadium in London.
According to media reports, Dembele an Enrique were in disagreement during PSG’s 3-1 victory over Rennes after the French international was substituted with eight minutes still left in the game. Before the game, Enrique has given his stand on the exclusion. According to PSG manager, players should respect team decisions and “expectations”.
With the upcoming game being deemed as a crucial game for PSG in the Champions League competition, which is why Enrique feels the best team doesn’t include Dembele in the mix. It isn’t an easy decision and the former Barcelona manager has said that it was necessary for the team to succeed.
🚨 Luis Enrique on Ousmane Dembélé: “I won’t make a saga out of it… there was simply an issue with respect to his obligations towards the team”.
“I want the best for the team and I left him out. There was no fight between me and Dembélé”. pic.twitter.com/1DVFSDbSSm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 30, 2024
For Enriques, it is about winning the title and though he himself mentioned that he couldn’t guarantee wins, but he confirmed that the club’s president and sporting directors were backing his decision. Enrique quipped that he was of course looking to build team and his plans will obviously include Dembele.
Concluding the whole saga, the Spaniard mentioned that despite the altercation there was no problem between him and Dembele. It isn’t clear for how long Dembele will be omitted from the squad of PSG.
Apart from Dembele’s exclusion, Enrique was all praises for how Mikel Arteta has been leading his side. He even went on to say that Arsenal’s manager was one of the best in the world at the moment and hailed him for changing Arsenal’s fortunes.
The PSG manager felt that Dembele didn’t fit with PSG circuit and needs to respect the team’s expectations. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
