analysis
Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique have more in common than just the Champions League final; they have known each other for almost 30 years. But while PSG has become Europe’s benchmark with rotation and offensive power, Arsenal relies on defensive perfection. The final in Budapest will also be a duel between two pressure models.
Mikel Arteta’s career as a footballer began in waiting. Known as a great talent, he made his debut for FC Barcelona’s second team at the age of 15. But in the following four years it wasn’t enough for him to play for the professionals.
So in 2001, at the age of 19, Arteta was loaned to Paris Saint Germain and got his career going. In a sense, things will come full circle for the Arsenal FC coach on Saturday at the Champions League final in Budapest (live ticker from 6 p.m.). Because the coach of the opponent PSG is none other than Luis Enrique, one of the central midfielders who blocked Arteta’s way to the big stage during his time as a talent in Barcelona.
Enrique uses the entire range of the squad
Arteta remembers that he met Enrique when he was training with the first team in Barcelona at the age of 16. As he spoke to the Uefa Enrique said that he was “incredibly supportive” of the young players in Barcelona back then. Perhaps this anecdote about the player also explains one of the great qualities of coach Enrique. One of his secrets to success at PSG is his management of the squad.
He recently celebrated his third championship in his third season in Paris and relied on rotation. While winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia dominated the knockout stages of the Champions League, he didn’t even play half the possible minutes in Ligue 1. In return, homegrown Senny Mayulu and Ibrahim Mbaye got a lot of playing time – and developed into serious alternatives.
PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gestures during the Champions League semi-final match
So the stars saved the energy they needed for Enrique’s breathless football. The 5-4 win in the semi-final first leg against FC Bayern also went down in Champions League history because Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué were able to run relentlessly without getting tired.
Defense versus offense
Ever since the 5-0 win against Inter Milan in last year’s final, PSG has been considered the gold standard of club football.
63 percent of ball possession in the Champions League proves the game’s dominance, as do 548 ball touches in the opponent’s penalty area. In comparison, the final opponent from London has 52 percent ball possession and 415 ball touches in the opponent’s penalty area.
No other club plays as excitingly as PSG, especially not Arteta’s Arsenal. “They are the best defensive team in Europe and have been for several years,” says Luis Enrique in an interview with Uefa still impressed.
After three runner-up finishes in a row, the Gunners finally won their first championship in 22 years this season. Their dangerous corners into the crowded five-yard box are now defining styles. Defensive compactness is much harder to imitate.
Arteta’s influence from the bench
Luis Enrique says: “They make the most of their abilities and strengths.” In fact, Arsenal’s team is far from being blessed with the individual class of the Parisians, but this disadvantage is compensated for by the coach’s perfect organization, even at the highest level.
According to data from the coaching scouting platform COACHINSIDE, Arteta is the coach in the Premier League whose tactical interventions and player substitutions had the greatest measurable influence on the course of the game. One of them: In the entire season, Arsenal only lost nine points after leading themselves.
The price of the Premier League
Despite these successes, Arsenal have been widely criticized this season when compared to Vincent Kompany’s Bayern and Enrique’s Parisians. Many observers found the style too destructive for a top team, especially since Arteta, like Kompany and Enrique, is considered a student of the possession fanatic Pep Guardiola.
Mikel Arteta worked as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola (left) before taking over at Arsenal.
Arteta gave these critics a simple answer before the semi-finals in the Champions League: “To deliver such high quality, you have to be in top shape”he said, pointing to the difference in quality between the English and French leagues. And it’s true: Unlike Enrique, Arteta cannot afford to regularly rest his best players in competitive games.
The said semi-final first leg between PSG and Bayern is that “probably best game” greatest thing he had ever seen. But: “When I look at the number of minutes played and the freshness of these players, it doesn’t surprise me.”
That’s precisely why Arsenal should remain patient in the final and hope for the moment when Paris Saint Germain’s pace slows down for the first time. It goes without saying that Arteta’s team can wait.
