Soccer-Arsenal are world's best when out of possession, says PSG boss Luis Enrique

Paris St Germain head coach Luis ​Enrique has lavished praise on Arsenal ​ahead of this month's ‌Champions League ​final, dubbing them the best team in the world without the ball. "Off the ball, they’re the best team in the world, no doubt about it.

Paris St Germain head coach Luis ​Enrique has lavished praise on Arsenal ​ahead of this month's ‌Champions League ​final, dubbing them the best team in the world without the ball. Arsenal ended their 22-year wait ‌for the Premier League title on Tuesday and Luis Enrique told reporters it was no surprise they had also reached the final of Europe's elite club competition.

"We’ve ‌got experience of playing against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, and we know full ‌well how good they are on the ball," he said on Wednesday. "Off the ball, they’re the best team in the world, no doubt about it. With the ball, they’re capable ⁠of ​scoring plenty of ⁠goals.

"And it’s only natural to see them in the final. It’ll be a very tough ⁠final with two teams approaching it in two different ways. But I think we’re ​in for a cracking final." The PSG boss stressed the importance of pressing ⁠and defending ahead of the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30, highlighting star ⁠forward ​Ousmane Dembele's work rate.

“He defends all the time, no matter the match or the minute," the Spanish manager said. "It’s important to have him because ⁠we tend to always highlight what the forwards do when they score goals ⁠or provide assists, ⁠but we don’t highlight enough what he does as a defender. When a team doesn’t have the ball, you ‌have to ‌defend.”