TWO CHAMPIONS, ONE CROWN: LUIS ENRIQUE WARNS FINAL WILL BE DECIDED BY LITTLE DETAILS

Luis Enrique has praised Arsenal FC ahead of the Champions League final in Budapest, insisting there is no clear favourite as both sides arrive with similar ideas and ambition.

Speaking ahead of the clash with the Premier League champions, the Paris Saint-Germain FC boss said Mikel Arteta has built a consistent and deserving title-winning side.

“I’m not surprised he took them to the title. They are worthy of winning the Premier League, they were consistent. It wasn’t easy with Man City on their tail, but they deserve the title,” Luis Enrique said.

The PSG coach stressed that both teams are built on similar principles despite different strengths in attack and defence.

“It’s not two different ideas. They are also a very high scoring team and we also defend well. We are looking at the same destination, just taking different routes.”

Luis Enrique revealed PSG have closely analysed Arsenal, having faced them multiple times in recent seasons, but warned the final will come down to small margins.

“Final’s always a difficult game. Last year was exceptional, we dominated against Inter. In the final tomorrow, I don’t think there’s a favourite, honestly. For us, the devil’s in the detail. We’ll have to give it our all for all 90 minutes.”

He also played down any motivational edge from a leaked video of Arteta’s title celebrations, where the Arsenal boss declared: “We will be European champions on Saturday.”

“I don’t think there’s any better motivation than winning the Champions League. The rest is just strategy. We’ve both won our respective leagues, now I’m focused on what’s best for our team in the final,” he said.

“We’re trying to stay concentrated on what’s important. We have already gone down in the history books as one of the best teams in the world, and we want to repeat it.”

Luis Enrique even added that the pressure of being champions or challengers makes little difference.

“Winning for the first time is great motivation, but defending the title is even more,” he said with a smile.

PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé also backed Arsenal’s quality while stressing that the reigning champions remain fully focused on retaining their crown.