PSG coach Luis Enrique Martínez did not hide his joy after securing a place in the Champions League final, where his team will face Arteta’s Arsenal. The French side knocked out Bayern Munich with a 6-5 aggregate victory over the two legs.
“Lucho”, who turns 56 this Friday, will take charge of his third Champions League final as a manager, having previously led Barcelona to the title in 2015 and PSG to lift the trophy in 2025.
The Asturian manager highlighted how difficult it was to face Bayern on their own ground.
“If you think about what it means to come here and play a match like this… they’ve only lost three games all season. We reminded ourselves that we had already beaten them in Paris. We’re not used to defending, but we defended like angels. We deserved to go through,” Luis Enrique told Movistar.
Staying true to his style, the PSG coach refused to single out any individual player for praise.
“To focus on individuals would be unfair. Kvara performed at an incredible level… but it’s interesting that we haven’t been able to repeat the same starting XI from last year’s final. We couldn’t do it because of injuries. That also shows the kind of team we are.”
Luis Enrique also recalled that “we had the toughest draw in the group stage, as always. But now we’re going to play another final — something historic for the club.”
Asked about Arsenal and Mikel Arteta ahead of the final, “Lucho” openly admitted:
“I have a lot of affection for little Mikel because we were teammates at Barcelona. He has built a great team. It will be very difficult, but we have enormous faith in the way we play and in what we want to achieve. We made history last year, and now we want to continue it — and I’m sure we’ll put up a fight.”
