Luis Enrique’s comments and complaints will fall on deaf Arsenal ears after PSG’s recent advantages over their European rivals is coming back to bite them
Arsenal’s potential UEFA Champions League final opponents, Paris Saint-Germain, were beaten this weekend in a big clash at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Lyon secured a 2-1 win over the Parisian side, who now have just a four-point lead over RC Lens. The title-chasing pair were set to face one another in March, but due to PSG’s involvement in the UEFA Champions League, a request was made to reschedule the game to help with their preparations to face Liverpool.
Lens responded with a statement which read: “It seems to us, in fact, that a worrying sentiment is taking hold: that of a French league gradually being relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of certain parties’ European imperatives.”
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PSG head coach Luis Enrique said when questioned on the position of Lens: “It’s clear what we stand for; I can understand that there are different points of view, I understand the various issues and what Lens thinks – that’s only natural.”
However, Enrique’s comments after the defeat to Lyon are sure to spark controversy. “What can you do?” he said.
“You have to play nine games in 27 days. Rotation is the solution. If you don’t understand it, you don’t understand anything.”
PSG will play a match every three days on average through this period, a problem of their own making. They responded to the defeat to Lyon with a 3-0 win over Nantes on Wednesday to get back to winning ways.
Clubs like Arsenal are sure to have little sympathy at the Spaniard’s words having not received any benefit from the Premier League when it comes to scheduling around European games.
The rescheduled match with Lens falls on May 13, this will come after both UEFA Champions League semi-finals with Bayern Munich. The German side have now wrapped up the Bundesliga title giving them a significant advantage over the other European competitors who still have plenty to play for domestically.
Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital next week as they look to meet either of PSG or Bayern in the final. The Gunners will have just one game a week to play once the semi-finals are completed as they look to win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.
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