Arsenal vs PSG: Luis Enrique & Vitinha Pre-Match Press Conference

On the eve of their Champions League semi-final first leg game against Premier League side Arsenal, Luis Enrique and Vitinha spoke to the press commented on PSG's team news ahead of the game.
Paris Saint-Germain Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final
Paris Saint-Germain Training Session And Press Conference - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Semi Final | Alex Davidson/GettyImages

Luis Enrique and his side made the short trip to London to face Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium on April 29.

Earlier in the season, the Gunners eased past Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at the Emirates, but Luis Enrique's team has completely changed, becoming one of Europe's best team this season. However, Les Parisiens remain winless against Arsenal across their last four encounters, with three draws and one loss. Moreover, ahead of this crucial clash, the Spaniard coach will once again be able to rely on all his players.

Press Conference Transcript:

Q: On his poor form since the second-leg against Aston Villa

Vitinha: " Yes, we could say that I am not performing as well as I used to, but it happens, I am not worried. It's human, of course I do everything to be at my best but I am not worried at all."

Q: On how to challenge Arsenal's midfield physicality

Vitinha: " I have already talked about it before, but I think it is the same as before. I do not see any issues with that for our midfield. When we won at Liverpool, you said the same thing. That it is an athletic midfield, 'how are we going to do?'. We managed to qualify, we didn't win against Villa away but we beat them at home.

"So it is always different, I think that it is not necessarily because of this. Of course we always want to win, but we cannot do it all the time, it cannot be 100%. We will do everything possible to win tomorrow, and in the midfield too, because we know it's going to help the team to win the game."

Q: On his relationship with Luis Enrique and his role in his progression

Vitinha: " I already had the opportunity to talk about it. He helped me tactically, because I thought it was better to cover as much ground as possible but sometimes it is not the best option. On the personal level too, he is incredible in this aspect too. And of course the trust he puts in me, and my colleagues too. It helps us to improve our level."

Q: On what could be the key to win this tie

Luis Enrique: " Really, it is a Champions League semi-final, but it is a game like the others, there will be two boxes, two goalkeepers, two opponents that want to do better than the other one, and the key of the game will be the management of the different moments of the game. There will be moments where we'll need to manage the pressing, moments where there will be defensive covers to deal with. So we will need to be able to manage these moments, which will be primordial."

Q: On what changed since the first game between both sides

Luis Enrique: " I think the game you're talking about was on October 1st. It was seven or eight months ago. And there are massive differences, I have watched this game again and I saw the evolution of our team. We are far better now, I think we proved this throughout our journey in this competition. I also recall that we had one of the most difficult league phase of the competition and we are today in the semi-final and we played many games that could have been Champions League finals.

"At the beginning, the league phase was detrimental to us, but now it has been positive for us because we had to increase our level. There was many difficult moments but today we are a more complete side and we are once again in the semi-final and our goal now is to make history and to do it there is only one way."

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