On Monday, Paris Saint-Germain made a big decision ahead of their match against the Premier League side. Manager Luis Enrique left Ousmane Dembélé out of the squad for the trip to North London.
The move proved costly, as PSG fell 2-0 at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. Enrique’s decision was a blow to PSG’s attack, especially considering Dembélé’s impressive form this season.
The 27-year-old has contributed four goals and four assists in seven matches across all competitions, so his absence was felt. After the Gunners secured all three points, William Saliba was asked whether facing PSG without Dembélé made life easier for them and he provided an honest answer when talking about the victory.
“I think we really deserved the win today,” Saliba told Canal+ (h/t Paris Fans). “The coach told us we needed to be better in both boxes, and we delivered on that. Every chance we got, we made it count. Even when we were struggling, we defended well as a team. Overall, I think we earned this victory.
“I think it helped [to play PSG without Dembélé]. We know they have other players to cover for him, but we focused on our own game. His absence definitely worked in our favor.”
PSG will need to bounce back from this loss when they face OGC Nice on Sunday before the latest FIFA international break occurs. The French giants’ next Champions League matchup will be on October 22 when they face PSV Eindhoven at the Parc des Princes.
