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 disagreed after the Ligue 1 leaders’ 3-1 home win over Stade Rennais last Friday. Dembele, 27, has been one of PSG’s standout performers so far this season with four goals and three assists across all competitions plus an additional goal with Les Bleus last international break to better top scorer Bradley Barcola’s six direct goal involvements.
The former Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Rennes star clashed with the Spanish tactician over the weekend after a game in which the ex-Barca and La Roja tactician was audibly unhappy with aspects of Les Parisiens’ showing despite the two-goal winning margin. PSG now head to face Arsenal in their second League Phase game having won their opener 1-0 at home to Girona and up against a Gunners side which was held goalless by Atalanta in their first European assignment of the campaign.
“I am going to respond and say that if someone does not respect the obligations to the team and is not ready…” said Luis Enrique in Monday’s pregame press conference. “I consider that this week is important and that this match is important. I want my players to be in the best possible condition. I put him aside and I want the best for my team. I have nothing to add. I do not want to make a soap opera out of this. There is no dispute between the two of us — that is totally false. There is a problem of commitment of the player towards the team but not a problem between the player and the coach.”
Dembele has emerged as one of the French capital outfit’s main men since Kylian Mbappe moved on to join Real Madrid as part of a more convincing collective approach overall, but Luis Enrique has flexed his authority — and not for the first time — by opting to do without the Frenchman. This is actually not the first time that the 54-year-old has taken such a stance with a star player having already opted to do without Mbappe at times towards the end of last term as he worked towards a stronger collective mentality.
PSG supported their head coach then and support him again now which illustrates the impressive level of control and influence that he has managed to assert at Parc des Princes, which has not been the case with many of their former bosses. Arsenal at Emirates Stadium will be a tricky away day as Newcastle United was last year and perhaps Luis Enrique has learned the importance of collective defensive effort from that chastening experience — something that Dembele cannot always guarantee.
Paris have experimented with false nine solutions in the past few weeks since Goncalo Ramos’ injury early this campaign and this unexpected omission could bring Randal Kolo Muani back into contention with Kang-In Lee likely to go out wide with Barcola fixed on the left. There is logic to that, especially if Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are providing further width on either side of the defense, but there can be no denying that Luis Enrique is taking a risk by leaving Dembele out totally which could come back to haunt him if PSG fall to defeat in London.
Important returns ahead of the game with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mendes and Vitinha all back available for selection and in the squad suggests that we will see a more coherent starting XI than we did against the Magpies last campaign. Luis Enrique is known for his love of experimenting regardless of how big the game is but this should be considered more of a calculated maneuver rather than an outright gamble given that it should — at least in theory — ensure fewer issues in terms of defensive commitment.
If PSG can go to Arsenal and get a result without Dembele then 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 Parisien boss put himself in the firing line if it results in a loss. The stakes were suddenly raised by Luis Enrique here and perhaps part of that is to see how his team reacts to being deprived of one of its main influences so far this season.
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