PSG manager Luis Enrique chose to spend his evening studying Arsenal rather than attending a Ligue 1 awards ceremony.
The UNFP awards ceremony took place on Monday evening, which honours the best performers of the 2025-26 French football season.
Enrique was nominated for the Ligue 1 Manager of the Season award but was nowhere to be seen on the night.
He explained his absence the following day. “I’ll never go to that kind of party. I prefer to stay at home. I need to study Arsenal,” he said, in a tone equal parts amusing and ominous.
It is not the first time Enrique has shown his hand when it comes to his respect for Arsenal. After PSG knocked out Bayern Munich to reach the final, he was already making light-hearted jokes directed at Mikel Arteta.
😬 Which PSG player worries you the most for the Champions League final?
Luis Enrique already preparing for Champions League final vs Arsenal
But behind the humour, Luis Enrique knows exactly what Arsenal are capable of.
Images broadcast by RMC Sport showed PSG’s goalkeepers involved in a training drill in which they were jostled and shoved by teammates.
PSG are fully aware that Arteta’s side are notorious for being a lethal threat from set-pieces, and are already preparing to combat that.
Enrique has also had the luxury of carefully managing his players’ minutes ahead of the final, with Achraf Hakimi and Warren Zaire-Emery both carrying minor issues.
PSG’s Ligue 1 title is effectively already wrapped up — Enrique himself said there is a “99.9% chance” they are already champions, with a six-point lead and superior goal difference over Lens with two games remaining.
The same cannot be said in the Premier League, where the margin for error is much smaller.
Mikel Arteta cannot afford to rest key players as he looks to secure Arsenal’s first league title in 22 years.
In fairness, Enrique has been consistently complimentary about Arsenal, hailing them as an unbelievable team and insisting Arteta fully deserves his place in the final.
Teammates in their younger years, the two Spaniards go back a long way and there is genuine admiration between them.
Come May 30, that admiration will be set aside. This PSG side will be ready. The question is whether Arsenal will be more ready.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
