Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has strongly rejected Mikel Arteta’s assertion that Arsenal were the superior team in their Champions League semi-final tie.

Arteta, the Arsenal manager, claimed after the match that the PSG bench had admitted Arsenal were the better side during the game. However, Enrique, speaking after PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory, insisted that he disagreed with this view.

Despite Arsenal's impressive performance, the Gunners will finish the season trophyless after their elimination from the Champions League by PSG. Arteta expressed pride in his team's performance, stating that Arsenal had dominated the match and that the PSG staff had acknowledged this dominance.

However, Luis Enrique didn’t seem to share Arteta’s sentiment when responding to these comments.

Luis Enrique Denies Arteta's Claim

“Mikel Arteta is a great friend, but I don’t agree at all,” Enrique remarked to BBC Sport.

“They played cleverly and managed to bring the game to a moment that suited them, as they played the way they wanted, and in the way they love. But in the two legs, we scored more goals than they did, and that is the most important thing in football.

“Arsenal played well, and we certainly suffered at times, but we deserved to reach the final. They are a great team, but as I said, we scored more goals, played excellently in the first leg, and in the second half of the second leg, it was a completely different game. We could have even scored more goals.”

Statistical Analysis of PSG vs Arsenal

Although Arteta may have been less than transparent about what was said by the PSG bench, the statistics from the match do suggest that Arsenal played well.

At the Parc des Princes, Arsenal had more possession, more shots, and a higher expected goals (xG) value than PSG:

Stat PSG Arsenal

Possession 45.9% 54.1%

Shots 11 19

Shots on Target 6 4

xG 1.74 3.14

While Arsenal showed greater offensive pressure, their main issue across both legs was their finishing. The need for a new striker in the summer transfer window is now an urgent priority for the north London side.