Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique sang Arsenal’s praises following his team’s 2-0 defeat to the Gunners on Tuesday night.
Arsenal put in a dominant first-half display to go 2-0 up against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, before shutting their opponents down in the second half to secure the three points.
On paper, it was Arsenal’s toughest home game of the new league phase, but it ended up being a relatively routine win.
The Gunners remain unbeaten in all competitions this season, and they’re growing used to hearing complaints from opposition managers after every game.
In just the last week, Bolton boss Ian Evatt complained about not getting a penalty against Arsenal, then Steve Cooper whinged about a Gunners goal he wanted disallowed and a potential red card for Riccardo Calafiori.
But PSG boss Luis Enrique was much more gracious in defeat, admitting the hosts simply got the better of them.
“Today we were far away from the standards you need in this kind of match,” Enrique said. “Arsenal were much better in terms of pressure, intensity, they won every duel.
“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.
“This was our first big rival at a higher level. We knew from the first minute they would press us high and they did it aggressively and we couldn’t cope with that pressure.”
The stats certainly suggest that Arsenal did well to shut PSG down.
Adam Rae Voge reports that the visitor’s xG of 0.31 was their lowest in the 69 Champions League matches for which Opta publicises its data.
The French side had scored in their previous 51 Champions League group stage or league phase matches, but they couldn’t create enough to keep that going at the Emirates Stadium.
By contrast, Arsenal took their chances and earned the win.