PSG boss Luis Enrique reveals surprise Arsenal challenge and Mikel Arteta's perfect response

Mikel Arteta has been known to make some strange references in press conferences. His metaphors are sometimes out there. Luis Enrique has just raised the bar.

Speaking after Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 win over Le Havre on Saturday, the head coach was quick to justify what, on the face of it, was a slightly disappointing end scoreline. After all, PSG are Ligue 1 champions and continue to close in on an unbeaten season. Le Havre are in a serious relegation scrap.

This PSG side have lost twice in 26 matches since the turn of the year and both came as part of Champions League ties which they would go on to win. 90 goals have been scored in that time, a lot of them for Ousmane Dembele.

So yes, the Parc de Princes crowd might have been expecting a bit more. The scoreline does not tell the full story, though. PSG had 19 shots and racked up 3.14 xG (expected goals). Le Havre managed nine and only one was on target. Even that came from a set piece, but it also happened to go in.

There was still plenty of entertainment here, just not the totally dominant score which reflected the match. That is perhaps to be expected from what was a heavily changed PSG side.

Just like Arsenal and Arteta, Enrique rotated. He changed tactical plans, switching to a back three, and rested his captain and goalkeeper. Dembele was left out of the matchday squad as a whole, and there wasn't a defensive-minded midfielder in sight.

It's no surprise that the French giants held 70% of possession. Even with teenagers Ibrahim Mbaye and Senny Mayulu there was near full control.

Enrique was impressed by the performance on a joyous afternoon spent celebrating another win, the title, and the narrow progression past Aston Villa in the Champions League. "I'm very satisfied because I made a lot of substitutions," he said afterwards.

"It was a match that required calm and concentration, and the players did very well from the start, with a truly impressive pace, both with and without the ball. I'm very happy; I know these kinds of matches after the Champions League. I congratulate my players and the team."

PSG and Arsenal both have scheduling quirks to get over before they face off in the first leg of the semi-final next week. Arsenal play on Wednesday in a moved Premier League match due to Crystal Palace's FA Cup semi-final commitments. This is their next and last game before the return to European competition, allowing a full six days without action before PSG visit.

Enrique, on the other hand, will see his team play twice more. They will then have to travel to England. Although there is a small Tuesday-Friday gap between league games, it does allow PSG extra time to recover and prepare for Arsenal in Europe once they are done with Nantes and Lille.

What Enrique has found, though, is that there is a challenge to keep all of his players going with less meaningful games to go at. It is reported in France that he said, "Even my grandmother could motivate players to play against Aston Villa in the Champions League." Motivating his players for the comedown after the drama at Villa Park is less easy.

He has set out his goals for the rest of the season, regardless. "We are very motivated because we can set a record of the European team in the big five leagues with the longest unbeaten run away from home," he added.

Enrique continued: "Without doubt, that is the challenge that we face at the moment and that is the challenge for coaches. Because it can be hard to motivate everyone, particularly the ones who are less involved, but I feel very lucky because my players are responding in the best possible way and turning in top level performances. I would like them all to get more playing time but it is difficult to do that because to do that I have to stop high-level players from playing."

Arteta has the same obstacle ahead. There is very little for Arsenal to gain from playing against Palace on Wednesday and although the focus will undoubtedly be on PSG, he cannot afford for them to drop off either.

As was shown against Ipswich Town on Sunday, Arteta is favouring continuity and form. He does not have a massive squad to work with and that has only been reduced due to injuries. With that in mind, he has kept key players in the team despite the risk that they could be injured.

Maintaining that motivation when in the league is maybe the biggest hurdle ahead. Arteta was also happy with how his team managed the situation with bigger things to come. "That [mentality] is what we discussed before the match, and that's the way they described it. And to be more intense than them.

"And actually, what does that mean? And it's just to be very intense in terms of your focus, your level of attention, to understand one, two, three seconds before what's going to happen and then act. And I think the team was very much at it from the beginning."

Arsenal and Arteta will have their own ways of going about this but they do not have the lure of an unbeaten league season to keep themselves on their toes domestically. Either way, Enrique and Arteta will be trying all they can to maintain confidence, focus, and motivation ahead of their meeting. As Enrique said, it is not hard to be up for the huge matches but actually the ones in between.

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