Champions League: PSG, Arsenal final has no favorite, says Luis Enrique

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique insisted his team are not favorites to defend their title in Saturday’s Champions League final against Arsenal.

The Ligue 1 champions are an exciting attacking force having scored more goals than any other team in the league with 44, while opponents Arsenal have conceded six, the fewest of any side.

In last season’s final, PSG waltzed to a 5-0 win over Inter Milan to claim the trophy for the first time, but Luis Enrique said finals are often close affairs and that match was the exception that proved the rule.

«Finals are always difficult matches. Last year was exceptional. We dominated against Inter,» said the Asturian coach.

«In tomorrow’s final I don’t think there is a favorite and, I’ll be honest with you, for us the devil is in the details. It will be very close.»

«We will have to give everything for 90 minutes, but also enjoy it. There are waves of tension, but it is also about knowing how to deal with that stress.»

Also read | How can Arsenal upset their chances of beating PSG?

Luis Enrique said the clash of styles between PSG and Arsenal was not as clear as some claim, despite the disparity in the teams’ statistics.

«I would say they are not two different approaches, but two similar approaches, but with different tactics. Because they are a team that also scores goals, and we are a team that also defends well, but we do it in different ways,» said the coach.

Arsenal have never won the trophy, just as PSG had only done so when they finally won it last season.

“It’s powerful (motivation),” Luis Enrique said of Arsenal’s position.

«But do you know how powerful it is to try to win the second Champions League in a row? It’s bigger!»

Only Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid has managed to win the Champions League in consecutive seasons in the competition’s modern era.

Luis Enrique can become only the fifth manager to lift the trophy three times if his team wins at the Puskas Arena, having won it with Barcelona in 2015 and with PSG last season.

«It’s important to know how to approach a final; you never know when you’ll be in it again,» the coach noted.

Luis Enrique said European glory was the reason he came to the club and PSG’s main goal.

“That was my goal, the club’s goal, the sporting director’s goal, it was in the plan,” he added.

“Maybe not as quickly as we achieved it… we deserved to win the last Champions League, we were the better team.

“It’s easier when you have the opportunities we have as coaches, the facilities of the club and the level of players I have to achieve those goals.

“Right now we are thinking about the future – the future is winning tomorrow, another important trophy, and that is the goal.”

Luis Enrique confirmed defenders Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes were fit for the final, while forward Ousmane Dembele said he had recovered from a calf problem.

Published on May 29, 2026