After presiding over PSG’s successful Champions League title defence, Luis Enrique put his name up in lights in the hall of fame for football’s greatest-ever managers.

Having previously guided Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2014-15, the Spaniard secured his third European Cup triumph as a coach. He joined an elite group of managers with three or more European Cup titles, alongside Carlo Ancelotti, who won a record five, and Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola, who have each lifted the trophy three times.

Getting one over Guardiola

By going back to back, Enrique achieved what even his good friend Guardiola — who has a case for being considered the greatest ever — could not. And he did it in some style, with his PSG team being feted for its silky interplay and bewildering movement.

Enrique’s insistence on high-intensity, high-pressure football with electrifying forwards who dribble through defences has created a rare blend — arguably even improving on Guardiola’s iconic Barcelona side which won the Champions League twice. He has expanded on the possession-based ideas of Spain’s best teams, adding risk-taking and transitional threat.

Enrique’s PSG plays structured positional football, typically a 3-1-6 in possession. But there is fluidity within this formation — it’s not the same players in the same positions at all times. The side can pull apart most defences with its clever positional interchanges.

While PSG couldn’t break Arsenal down in the final, which went to penalties, it still created several headaches for the English champion, which Enrique said was the best team in the world out of possession. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after the game that his plan wasn’t to have just 25% of the ball, but PSG’s dominance had precipitated the situation.

“It’s not a plan to play in certain scenarios when you don’t have the ball but they force you to do that,” Arteta, who admitted to being inspired by Enrique and PSG, said. “What they are able to do with the ball, individual actions, I haven’t seen it [before]. And so even more praise to them.”

In many ways Enrique is the defining figure of this PSG project, after the megastars, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, departed. As Arteta said, “His fingerprints are all over this team.” Enrique arrived in Paris in 2023 promising a cultural shift rather than instant glamour. The Spaniard wanted a team in which collective sacrifice outweighed individual status, where the biggest names defended, pressed and suffered together. It’s fair to say he has succeeded.

After Mbappe left in 2024, Lucho, as he is nicknamed, said his team would become even stronger. “Having a player who moved wherever he wanted meant there were parts of the game I couldn’t control… next year, I’ll control everything. Everything,” he said. And he did.

The club still invested heavily in players, but players tailored to their manager’s plans, willing to run endlessly for the collective, and keep egos in check. “I arrived at the club thinking, ‘My objective is to make history,’ and we have indeed made history,” Enrique said. “We want to keep writing the story because we believe there’s still more there for us to achieve.”

Trophy-winning dynasty

Enrique has won 12 trophies, including three Ligue 1 titles, during his time at PSG. It is clear, from inside and outside, the effect the Asturian has had on a club built in his image, capable of creating a modern football dynasty. But while there is no doubt about Enrique’s quality, the question of his legacy, specifically the PSG chapter, is less straightforward.

The French team, built with Qatari riches, continues to face questions about ‘sportswashing’, which global campaigning network Greenpeace defines as “the act of sponsoring a sports team or event in order to distract from bad practices elsewhere. This tactic is often used by companies and governments with poor environmental or human rights records, exploiting people’s love of sports to ‘wash’ their image clean”.

Qatar Sports Investments acquired a controlling stake in PSG in 2011, just under a year after Qatar was named host for the 2022 World Cup. Critics saw both moves as a means to “mute criticism of an autocratic regime”, to take attention away from its “appalling treatment of migrant workers”, “suppression of human rights”, and “imprisonment of whistleblower Abdullah Ibhais”.

Critics also cite the financial imbalance enjoyed by state-owned teams such as PSG, Manchester City and Newcastle, arguing that it undermines fair competition. They point to the influence of PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi, the chairman of both European Football Clubs (EFC) and broadcasting company beIN, on the administration of European club football. This, they say, is the “the deeper effect of state money”.

The questions and criticism have reduced with PSG’s success on the biggest stage — critics contend that this is precisely the point of ‘sportswashing’.

Sticking point: Enrique’s tenure at PSG doesn’t lend itself to easy analysis. Critics say the financial imbalance enjoyed by the Qatar-owned club and the influence of PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi on European football undermines fair competition.
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Enrique’s tenure at PSG — much like Guardiola’s at City, which was marked by incredible trophy success but marred by 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations — will be accompanied by a knotty question: Can legacy be separated from the context of the circumstances in which it is built?

Fans of Enrique will hope that the answer doesn’t define him entirely. The 56-year-old has enriched the game with his progressive ideas of play, extending the limits of modern tactical thinking. While mastering his craft, he has endured a great personal tragedy and borne the loss of his young daughter with resilience and grace. Some will also highlight the fact that other managers have enjoyed Enrique’s resources at PSG but failed to produce the results he has.

Target three-peat

For his part, Enrique isn’t overly concerned about his legacy, at least publicly. After the final, he said he was “not interested” in whether he was becoming a legend or not. His next target is the Champions League three-peat. “The first one was incredible, but more than anything we had that desire to get the second,” he told broadcaster M6. “I love this club so much, and it’s not over! We’ve got the second, we’ll keep working and go get the third.”

Record 15-time winner Real Madrid won the Champions League three times (2016-2018). Before that, the last teams to complete a hat-trick were Bayern Munich and Ajax in the 1970s. Real also won it five years running, back at the competition’s inception. “We can talk about the back-to-back-to-back,” said Enrique. “We can talk about these types of objectives, our club is worthy of it, as are our supporters. We do need new players to refresh certain positions, but we’ve been champions of Europe for two years… piano piano [slowly, slowly].”

Seven years after returning to a fractured Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will lead his side into Saturday’s Champions League final against Paris St ‌Germain, one win from completing a remarkable rebuild.

Guiding Arsenal to their first Premier League title since 2004 this season has already repaid the club’s long-term faith in him after three ⁠successive runner-up finishes.

Now he has the chance to go one step further and cap what could be the greatest season in Arsenal’s history by delivering Europe’s biggest club prize for the first time.

“We have raised different standards now, and now we ‌have to go to the next level,” Arteta said this week.

For a coach shaped by Pep Guardiola during a three-year spell as Manchester City assistant, imitation might have been the obvious route. ‌Many have tried, and failed, to reproduce his fellow Spaniard’s blueprint.

Arteta chose a different path.

Arsenal’s rise ‌has ⁠been built not just on control, but on pragmatism, a blend of zonal dominance, high ⁠pressing and defensive discipline underpinned by a non-negotiable team ethic.

A side once mocked for vulnerability has been reshaped into one adept at winning ugly when necessary.

“You have to be ruthless, and you have to be consistent… to create a winning mentality,” Arteta said soon after arriving at Arsenal in 2019. “Without an identity, you ‌cannot plan and you cannot convince a player to do what you want,” he added.

When Arteta returned to the club, he served as a midfielder; those foundations were missing with the drift and discord that marked the final years of Arsene Wenger’s reign deep-rooted.

“I am very lucky that we have an ownership model that ‌understood the picture was ugly,” he told the podcast the Overlap.

“The best part was changing the culture… to understand deeply how people feel about working in the organisation, and I wasn’t happy… I wasn’t impressed at all,” he said.

Team bonding

The reset went beyond tactics. Arteta reshaped the environment ⁠at the training ground at London Colney, surrounding players with messages, mantras and symbols.

Unity and accountability became daily expectations, while team bonding helped build a tightly connected group. He even introduced a pet black labrador named “Win” to the ‌training ground, with players sharing responsibility for walking her.

That ‘family’ environment now defines Arsenal as much as their football. Attention to detail has translated directly onto the pitch. The appointment of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover in 2021 proved a turning point, turning marginal gains into a decisive weapon.

Arsenal have broken the Premier League record for goals from corners this season, with more than a third of their goals coming from set-pieces, and a string of narrow wins underlining their evolution from nearly-men to champions.

Former Everton manager David Moyes sees that shift clearly. “You have seen ‌Mikel over a few years, he has got dark arts… because you are desperate for your team to win,” Moyes said.

Arteta still points to the collective.

“It’s just a joy of a group… the togetherness, the unity, the love, the respect,” he said after Arsenal sealed their place in the final by beating ⁠Atletico Madrid.

The road has not been smooth. Early setbacks and near-misses tested the project, but gradually Arsenal moved from ⁠contenders to champions, buoyed by what Arteta describes as the “energy, the positivity and the confidence” around the club.

Now, that belief faces its ultimate test against PSG – one of Europe’s most formidable sides and ‌a club tied to Arteta’s own past. The Spaniard played for the French side early in his career.

“We have an amazing opportunity to write new history in our football club,” he said.

From reset to resurgence, Arteta has reshaped Arsenal in his own image – disciplined, resilient and driven by belief. Now the final step is within reach.

Published – May 28, 2026 12:34 am IST

Arsenal kept alive their Premier League title challenge with a 5-1 demolition of dismal Manchester City on Sunday as the troubled champions endured another humiliation in their season from hell. Mikel Arteta‘s side had no margin for error in the title race after leaders Liverpool won 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday to move nine points clear of the Gunners. They rose to the occasion with a blistering performance inspired by Martin Odegaard‘s opener after 103 seconds at the Emirates Stadium. Erling Haaland hauled City level soon after half-time with his 25th goal in all competitions this season.

But the careless mistakes that have hampered City throughout a dismal campaign proved decisive when Thomas Partey capitalised on Phil Foden‘s poor pass to restore Arsenal’s lead.

Myles Lewis-Skelly’s first Arsenal goal and late strikes from Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri put the seal on a masterful display as the Gunners closed within six points of Liverpool.

Liverpool’s game in hand keeps them firmly in control of the title race, but Arsenal’s vibrant performance extended their unbeaten run to 14 games and underlined their desire to push the Reds to the finish line.

City have now failed to win any of their last four league meetings with Arsenal as their six-game undefeated run in the top-flight came to a brutal end.

With a fifth successive title long erased from City’s ambitions after their wretched season, Pep Guardiola’s fourth placed side are focused on qualifying for the Champions League.

But even that could be beyond them — let alone getting past Real Madrid in this season’s play-off round — unless Guardiola can fix the gaping holes in his defence and the lack of energy in midfield.

Guardiola had opted to bring in John Stones for former Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who endured an error-strewn debut against Chelsea last weekend.

But Stones was involved in the calamitous defending that gifted Arsenal the lead in the second minute.

It was Stones’ pass to the marked Manuel Akanji that put his fellow defender in a difficult situation.

Akanji was immediately robbed by Leandro Trossard before Kai Havertz picked out Odegaard and the Arsenal captain slotted home from 10 yards with City’s defence in disarray.

Shell-shocked City

Already fearing the worst, Guardiola stomped back to the bench with a thunderous expression.

City controlled possession but were toothless for long periods, prompting all manner of agitated gestures from the exasperated Guardiola.

Haaland angered Arsenal after telling Arteta to “stay humble” and throwing the ball at Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes during the stormy 2-2 draw earlier this season.

So inevitably, it was Haaland who grabbed City’s 55th minute equaliser.

Savinho’s perfectly weighted cross gave Haaland the chance to get in front of William Saliba and bury his close-range header.

But Arsenal took just two minutes to wipe from smile from Haaland’s face.

Foden’s pass was picked off by Partey and the Ghana midfielder unleashed a powerful long-range drive that went in via a wicked deflection off Stones.

Arsenal scented blood and Lewis-Skelly went for the kill in the 62nd minute.

Cutting inside the City area, the 18-year-old left-back showed poised that belied his lack of experience as he curled a fine finish into the far corner.

In a cheeky jibe at Haaland, Lewis-Skelly marked the goal by sitting down with his legs crossed to mimic the City star’s meditative celebration.

There was more misery for shell-shocked City as the much-maligned Havertz got on the scoresheet in the 76th minute.

Gabriel Martinelli swaggered through City’s leaky defence and teed up Havertz for a clinical finish from 10 yards.

Deep into stoppage-time, teenage forward Nwaneri delivered the final blow, whipping a superb finish into the far corner from an acute angle.

Arsenal fans taunted Guardiola with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and, not for the first time in a chastening afternoon, City had no response.

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said his side could handle any opposition after progressing directly to the Champions League last 16 with a 2-1 win at Girona on Wednesday. A much-rotated Gunners side defeated the Catalan outfit with goals from Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri after falling behind to Arnaut Danjuma’s first-half strike. Arsenal, avoiding the play-off phase added this season, will play Juventus, AC Milan, Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven in the last 16.

“Winning in this competition is very demanding but overall the team has been very consistent, regardless of all the issues they have had to face,” Arteta told reporters after a fourth consecutive European victory.

“(Hopefully it breeds) more belief in that dressing room that we are a good team and we can face anyone and still perform and win games.”

Neto made his Arsenal debut against Girona in goal with Arteta saying first-choice stopper David Raya was hurt.

“He certainly could not play, he is injured,” explained the coach, ahead of Manchester City’s impending visit to face Arsenal in the Premier League, in a key title race clash on Sunday.

Veteran Brazilian goalkeeper Neto, 35, erred for Girona’s opener, with the Bournemouth loanee caught out of his box and Danjuma able to finish past him from distance.

Attacking midfielder Nwaneri led the line for Arsenal and finished brilliantly for the winner, with team-mate Mikel Merino hailing the 17-year-old starlet.

“He is ruthless, he has no fear on the pitch,” Merino told TNT Sports.

“He has a really high ceiling and we are going to help him reach it.”

Arteta praised the teenager for his exciting display at Montilivi.

“I’m really impressed, making his debut as a Champions League starter today and scoring the goal that he scored, especially in a very important moment,” said the coach.

“His influence, his composure on the ball and how aggressive he is when he gets it, it’s impressive.”

Arsenal have been linked in English media with a bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins to reinforce their attack with Gabriel Jesus out injured, but Arteta did not want to comment on the matter.

“I can’t talk about any of that — my confidence is that we have an amazing club with people always working to try and improve,” he added. “Let’s see what happens.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta© AFP

Newcastle put a huge dent in Arsenal’s title aspirations on Saturday, winning 1-0 to give leaders Manchester City the chance to move eight points clear of the Gunners at the top of the Premier League. Alexander Isak scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 12th minute, heading home Anthony Gordon‘s pinpoint cross from the right. Arsenal struggled to get out of first gear and although they dominated possession, they produced just one shot on target in the entire game.

Mikel Arteta‘s men have now picked up just one point in their past three games as their title push quickly runs out of steam.

If defending champions City win at Bournemouth later on Saturday they will be eight points clear of the Gunners. Liverpool, a point behind City, host Brighton at Anfield.

Arsenal have pushed Pep Guardiola’s City hard in each of the past two seasons and appeared to be well-equipped for another title challenge but the gap already looks alarmingly big.

The injury-hit visitors started brightly in the opening seconds at St James’ Park, with Leandro Trossard dragging the ball wide.

But the home side, who had not won for five matches, quickly settled and Sweden forward Isak got between Gabriel and William Saliba to head home from Gordon’s exquisite first-time cross.

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka lacked penetration but headed just wide in the 18th minute after leaping above his marker.

Newcastle defender Lewis Hall blocked Mikel Merino’s shot on the line after a Declan Rice corner caused chaos but the visitors lacked rhythm and failed to match the intensity shown by the home side.

Arteta opted against making changes at half-time and Newcastle came close to doubling their lead almost immediately, with Joe Willock’s shot saved by David Raya.

The Spanish boss threw on 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri and Oleksandr Zinchenko for Gabriel Martinelli and Merino just after the hour mark.

Isak fired a shot at Raya that the Arsenal goalkeeper pushed away before Rice muscled his way into the Newcastle area and flashed a shot wide.

Arteta made further changes, introducing defender Ben White and forward Gabriel Jesus in the desperate push for an equaliser.

Arsenal struggled to build up a head of steam as the clock ticked down but they squandered a golden chance to equalise when Rice headed just wide from a Saka cross in stoppage time.

The Gunners, still missing captain Martin Odegaard, suffered a shock defeat against Bournemouth last month and drew 2-2 with Liverpool last week.

They have tough games coming up against Inter Milan in the Champions League and Chelsea next week.

The win lifts Eddie Howe’s Newcastle to eighth in the table ahead of the later kick-offs on Saturday.

Martin Odegaard has missed Arsenal’s last six games with the injury he suffered last month.© AFP

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he still “loves” Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola despite last weekend’s bad-tempered top-of-the-table clash. The champions needed a John Stones equaliser deep into stoppage-time to escape with a 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. Arteta’s side, runners-up to City in the Premier League for the past two seasons, had Leandro Trossard sent off just before the interval. The Gunners did their best to deliberately disrupt their rivals with time-wasting and cynical fouls in the second half.

City struggled to break down Arsenal despite dominating possession, leading Stones and team-mate Bernardo Silva to accuse the north Londoners of resorting to football’s “dark arts”.

Arteta, who worked as Guardiola’s assistant at City before becoming Arsenal boss, said the controversy would not get in the way of his personal relationship with his fellow Spaniard.

“I love him, I respect him and I admire him, his team and everything that he does,” he said Friday, on the eve of his side’s match against Leicester.

“This is a sport — one thing is our profession and the other is our personal relationship.

“If my relationship has to be damaged because we play against each other and one draws or the one wins, or the amount of times that we have lost then I wouldn’t talk to him any more.”

Arteta was asked by reporters whether it was harder to maintain a friendship when games between title contenders are so ferocious.

“It’s quite simple — don’t take it personally, it’s part of our job,” he said.

“The things that you really care about, make sure you handle them in the right way. 

“That relationship, I really care about. It’s the same with a lot of people in their staff and players that I spent some very important years of my life with.”

Unbeaten Arsenal are fourth in the table, two points behind City, who are top of the pile after five games.

Arteta, whose team meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next week, said he was unsure whether goalkeeper David Raya would be fit to face Leicester after picking up an injury against City.

“We have to wait 24 hours to see if he’s looking good or not that good”, he said.

Arsenal have to show they are ready to topple Premier League champions Manchester City in Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash between the title favourites, according to Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta. City have claimed an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles, beating Arsenal into second place in each of the past two seasons. Arteta’s men took four points from the two league meetings between the sides last season, but have not won at the Etihad Stadium since January 2015. “We go to the home of the champions. The team that I think in Premier League history has been the most consistent ever, not only in terms of results but in terms of dominance and consistent top performances,” said Arteta at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“This is the challenge, we have to go there and prove that again we’ve made another step and we can compete.”

City have started the season in ominous fashion, winning their opening four Premier League games thanks to a remarkable nine goals from Erling Haaland.

But Arsenal have already shown their mettle to remain in the fight with away wins at Aston Villa and Tottenham to sit two points behind the leaders.

City failed to score against Arsenal in the Premier League last season and the Gunners’ title challenge looks set to be built on solid foundations once more.

Arsenal have kept four clean sheets in five games and the only goal they have conceded so far this season came when down to 10 men against Brighton. 

The scheduling has not been kind to their chances of inflicting City’s first home defeat in 50 games stretching back to December 2022.

Arsenal played their opening Champions League match — a 0-0 draw away to Atalanta — 24 hours after City were also held goalless at home by Inter Milan on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola admitted the extra rest has given his side an advantage.

Arteta, though, said his side could not offer excuses as they aim to prove they are ready to be champions for the first time in 21 years.

“We want to be in the position we’re in, we dreamed of this years ago and we’re in this position right now. Let’s make the most out of it and let’s enjoy it,” he added.

“We know what it means, we know what we’re fighting for and it’s a great opportunity for the team to show what we’re capable of.”

Captain Martin Odegaard will again be missing for Arsenal after suffering ankle ligament damage on international duty with Norway.

Riccardo Calafiori and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.© X (Twitter)