Luis Enrique is treating Arsenal as a problem to solve, not just an opponent waiting in Budapest on May 30. He skipped his own 56th birthday dinner at Prunier near the Arc de Triomphe, and he has already said, "I never go to these kinds of events, I prefer to stay home, I need to study Arsenal." PSG also beat Bayern München 5-4 in the first leg in Paris, and the training ground work around this final has been just as pointed.

How PSG are preparing for Arsenal

The detail work has been obvious. PSG used rugby tackle shields in goalkeeper training to simulate Arsenal's aerial pressure, which tells you what kind of final they expect at the Puskas Arena. This is not a side drifting into the game on reputation alone. PSG are top of Ligue 1 with 70 points from 31 matches, and their last five results read W-D-D-W-W.

Luis Enrique's public line backs that up. He said he stayed away from the awards night because he wanted to study Arsenal, while also saying he was happy to see PSG players recognised and that the trophies were deserved. That is a manager keeping one eye on the present and the other on the final in a fairly ruthless way, which is probably exactly what a holder should be doing.

Why Dembele's award matters too

Ousmane Dembélé is part of the same picture, even if the debate around his Ligue 1 Player of the Year win is a little messy. He won it with only nine league starts, but the output is real enough, 10 goals and 6 assists in 20 Ligue 1 appearances. Dembele defended the award by pointing to the impact he made when he was on the pitch, and Vitinha backed him by calling him the best player in the league.

That is not a meaningless internal show of support. It speaks to a PSG squad that is comfortable with form, depth and individual quality ahead of a final against Arsenal. Nasser Al-Khelaifi's praise for Luis Enrique as the club's best decision only sharpens that sense of a team that believes its coach has already set the terms of the week. If PSG handle the final as precisely as they have handled the build-up, Arsenal will be dealing with a side that has spent the past few days acting like the match is already being played.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →