Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique admitted that his side were outclassed by a superior Arsenal team after their 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, Soccernet.football reports.
Les Parisiens looked far off the pace in north London as unreplied goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz handed the French champions their first defeat in Europe this season. Enrique’s men were outplayed and outmaneuvered for the vast majority of the match.
After the game, the Spaniard acknowledged that Arsenal outperformed his team in every aspect of the contest on Tuesday night in north London. He also appeared to question his players’ desire and work rate during the game.
“Today we were far away from the standards you need in this kind of match. Arsenal were much better in terms of pressure, intensity, they won every duel, he told reporters as per ESPN.
“It’s impossible to play for a positive result when you don’t win any of your duels on the pitch, their defenders anticipated our attackers and our defenders didn’t anticipate their attackers. Arsenal were superior.”
PSG were unbeaten in all competitions before Tuesday’s match but faltered in what was arguably their toughest challenge of the season so far. They are yet to face Ligue 1 title rivals Monaco or Marseille and Enrique admitted he is uncertain about his team’s current level.
“I can’t properly evaluate the level of our team, we will have to wait until the end of the season,” he added.
“This was our first big rival at a higher level. We knew from the first minute they would press us high, they did it aggressively and we couldn’t cope with that pressure.
“[Arsenal manager] Mikel [Arteta] has been here for five years, I’ve been at Paris for one year and two months.
“I don’t know where we are. I have a clear idea where I want us to be, but I don’t know how much time I will need.”