'Best in Europe, Super talented kids': Luis Enrique hails four Arsenal stars who simply dominated PSG

After Pep Guardiola labelled the defensive pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba as ‘incredible’, and after the legendary Rio Ferdinand described the duo as the ‘best in Europe’, it was the turn of the former Barcelona and Spain coach after Arsenal kicked off their Champions League campaign in style at the Emirates Stadium.

It was another of those performances in which Mikel Arteta’s team appeared to be playing in fast-forward.

A flurry of ferocious energy, Arsenal appeared to have an extra man throughout in a victory which – cruising past one of the continent’s A-list clubs while barely breaking sweat – showed just how far The Gunners have come in such a short space of time.

PSG boss Luis Enrique hails Arsenal defence in Champions League win

“Our rivals tonight were much better in terms of intensity, in terms of pressure. They won every duel,” Enrique sighed in his post-match press conference, a technically gifted but diminutive PSG team squashed underfoot by Arteta’s giants.

“Effectively, after the second goal Arsenal scored, they decided to defend a bit more deeply, take a fewer risks. Arsenal deserved their victory.

“Really, it’s impossible to come out of a game with a positive result if you don’t manage to win any duel on the pitch.”

Saliba and Gabriel were, as expected, faultless once more.

And you would be forgiven for wondering if Arteta had cloned Riccardo Calafiori before the game such were the numerous positions the Italian took up all across the pitch.

“And our defenders failed to anticipate their attackers. From the first minute, Arsenal were superior to us in the game. We knew from the first minute they were going to press us high, aggressive, and they did it great. We couldn’t overcome that kind of pressure.

“If you try to overcome that pressure but you lose every single duel you’re going to be far away to win the match.”

After Kai Havertz towered above Gianluigi Donnarumma to convert a sumptuous Leonardo Trossard cross – Arsenal legend Thierry Henry could not speak highly enough of Havertz’s goal, both in creation and execution – and after Bukayo Saka’s free-kick flashed through a crowd of bodies to double the lead, Enrique believes that Arsenal deserve to be ranked above all over teams in another department too.

“In front of us today were one of the best aerial teams in the whole of Europe, which is Arsenal,” the 54-year-old says.

‘They had a bit of luck in the second goal. It was a fairly simple cross to deal with. But it wasn’t dealt with and the goal went in. That’s top-level football for you.