Ousmane Dembele will not face Arsenal with Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday after the France international and head coach Luis Enrique fell out following the Ligue 1 leaders’ 3-1 home win over Stade Rennais last Friday. The 27-year-old Dembele has been one of PSG’s standout performers so far this season with four goals and three assists in all competitions, plus an additional goal during Les Bleus’s latest international break, setting up top scorer Bradley Barcola with six direct goals.
The former Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Rennes star clashed with the Spanish tactician this weekend following a match in which the former Barcelona and La Roja tactician was audibly dissatisfied with Les Parisiens’ performance despite the two-goal winning margin. PSG now take on Arsenal in their second League Phase match, having won their opening match at home to Girona 1-0 and against a Gunners side held goalless by Atalanta in their first European assignment of the campaign.
“I’m going to respond and say that if someone doesn’t respect the obligations to the team and isn’t ready for it…,” Luis Enrique said during Monday’s pre-match press conference. “I think this week is important and this match is important. I want my players to be in the best possible condition. I’m putting him aside and I want the best for my team. I have nothing to add “I don’t want to turn this into a soap opera. There is no dispute between the two of us – that is completely wrong. There is a problem with the player’s commitment to the team, but not between the player and the coach.”
Dembélé has become one of the French capital’s most important men since Kylian Mbappe switched to Real Madrid as part of a more convincing collective approach overall, but Luis Enrique has increased his authority – and not for the first time – by choose to do without the Frenchman. This is actually not the first time the 54-year-old has taken such a stance, with one star player having already opted to do without Mbappe towards the end of the last term as he worked to build a stronger collective mentality.
PSG backed their head coach then and are backing him again now, illustrating the impressive level of control and influence he has maintained at the Parc des Princes, which has not been the case with many of their former bosses. Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium will be a tough away day, just like Newcastle United last year and perhaps Luis Enrique has learned from that chastening experience the importance of collective defensive effort – something Dembele cannot always guarantee.
Paris have been experimenting with false nine solutions in recent weeks since Goncalo Ramos was injured at the start of the season and this unexpected omission could bring Randal Kolo Muani back into contention with Kang-In Lee likely to slot wide with Barcola on the left. There’s logic to that, especially if Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes provide more width either side of the defense, but there’s no denying that Luis Enrique is taking a risk by leaving Dembele out completely, which could come back to haunt him if PSG lost in London .
Key returns pre-match with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mendes and Vitinha all available for selection again and in the squad suggests we will see a more coherent starting XI than we did against the Magpies last season. Luis Enrique is known for his penchant for experimenting no matter how big the game, but this should be viewed as a calculated maneuver rather than an outright gamble as it should – at least in theory – cause fewer problems on defense to assure. stake.
If PSG can go to Arsenal and get a result without Dembele it will be an impressive statement for the French giants, but an uninspired attacking display with the French star nowhere to be seen will see the Parisian boss find himself in the line of fire if this results in this. in case of loss. The stakes were suddenly raised here by Luis Enrique and perhaps part of that is seeing how his team responds to being deprived of one of his most important influences so far this season.