Arsenal have been provided with a boost ahead of their Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain with news Ousmane Dembele has been dropped for their match against the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side have started off the season well with Arsenal third in the Premier League having taken 14 points from their opening six matches.
They are just one point behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League, while they are through to the fourth round of the League Cup and will face PSG on Tuesday night in their first Champions League match of the season.
And now PSG, who lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, will also be without Dembele, according to reports in France.
French newspaper L’Equipe claims that Dembele was ‘not in the Parisian group that travels to London this Monday morning’ a ‘sanction decided by his coach Luis Enrique after a muscular debriefing between the two men after the victory of PSG against Rennes on Friday’.
The report adds: ‘The Frenchman was criticized for certain choices made on the field. They had a tough argument that the Spanish coach did not appreciate. It is therefore a disciplinary sanction.’
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When asked about not facing Dembele on Tuesday, Arsenal boss Arteta replied: “We just got the news before. I don’t know if It’s true or not, but we’ll prepare for every possible outcome.”
On PSG specifically, Arteta added: “They are really tough. They dominate every phase of play. They have very clear intentions. When they don’t have the ball they want it straight back and they confront you. That’s Luis. Anywhere he is, he plays the same context.”
On playing at home against PSG, Arteta continued: “Everybody is looking forward to it. We missed it for a number of years. The group stage is a bit different this season. The opposition we’re facing is probably at the highest level in European football. It’s a great opportunity.”
Arteta reckons Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori’s ability to play at full-back and at centre-back make Arsenal “unpredictable”, he said: “We missed Jurrien 11 months and Riccy wasn’t here. They are two players that have the football brain, adaptability and ability to occupy different spaces. That makes us unpredictable.”
