Luis Enrique had the coldest response to Mikel Arteta claiming the PSG bench told him Arsenal were the 'better team'
Updated 07:50 8 May 2025 GMT+1Published 07:49 8 May 2025 GMT+1
Arteta's comments were put directly to Enrique after PSG knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League.
PSG manager Luis Enrique had the coldest response after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made a claim about the actions of his bench during the Champions League semi-final second leg.
PSG won 2-1 on the night at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, securing progression to the final via a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Arsenal started strongly in Paris and had two golden chances to take the lead inside the first 20 minutes, but were denied by superb saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Arteta's side pressed high early on and forced PSG's defenders into giving the ball away, but could not take advantage of that dominance with a goal.
The hosts, meanwhile, grew into the game and went into half-time ahead through Fabian Ruiz's deflected 20-yard strike.
They then made it 2-0 through Achraf Hakimi, shortly after Vitinha had missed a penalty awarded for a handball by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Arsenal did pull a goal back through Bukayo Saka, who then couldn't convert a second chance on the bounce after Donnarumma had failed to parry away a low cross.
It was PSG who were deserved winners over the two legs - though Arteta claimed post-match that the French side's bench told him that the Gunners were 'much better than them'.
When that comment was put to Enrique by Sky Sports' Gary Cotterill, he gave an emphatic response.
The Spaniard simply laughed before responding: "I don't agree, at all. Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don't agree at all.
"I think they played in a clever way today, and they get the match to the right moment for them, because they play in the way they want and they love to play.
"But I think in the two legs, we scored more goals than them and, in football, that is the most important thing."
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Luis Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League