Luis Enrique aims dig at Mikel Arteta and defends controversial PSG Champions League decision

Luis Enrique has defended his decision to make wholesale changes in Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 defeat to Strasbourg. The Spaniard made 10 changes to the starting lineup that faced Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.

Only João Neves kept his place in the team, though even he was played out of position to accommodate the French giants' new faces in midfield. PSG have now lost each of their last two games in Ligue 1.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Enrique was grilled by journalists for his decision to make wholesale changes in preparation for the Arsenal clash. The former Barcelona manager said: "Mr. Arteta has his way of working, Mr. Enrique has his. I don’t know which is better.

Unlike Enrique, Arteta fielded a particularly strong side in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon. The PSG gaffer added: "They had rest periods when we didn’t. Apart from the result, all the objectives I had set were achieved."

Despite losing to Strasbourg this weekend, Enrique was very complimentary of his young players. Speaking to PSG TV, he said: ""I think it was a very close game between two sides who want to play in the Champions League next season.

"We started the game with four Titis, so I think we played a very good game. We were put in trouble, but I have to congratulate the players. I'm very proud of the young players, they showed what they're capable of.

"It's not easy to play against this Strasbourg team. They have a lot of quality and experience. We played a very good match but didn't get the result we wanted. Now we need to recover and concentrate on Wednesday's game."

Speaking to reporters following Arsenal's defeat to Bournemouth, Arteta was quizzed on Wednesday night's tie. The Gunners manager said: "Well, we certainly wanted to create a really good vibe.

"A positive result would really help us to build what we wanted towards Wednesday. So what we have created now is a lot of rage, anger, frustration and a bad feeling in the tummy. So make sure that we use that for Wednesday to have a massive performance in Paris, win the game and be in the final."

On PSG resting players, Arteta said: "Well, I don't know. They won the league so they have the luxury to do that. We haven't because we still have a lot to do in the Premier League. But we have four days and I'm sure we'll be fully recovered and at our best to play the game."

Then, on whether the Champions League has affected his side's approach to the Premier League, Arteta said: "Again, our preparation has been exactly the same or even more. I'm trying to put more emphasis into it. The margins are very small.

"It's true that maybe we lacked, I don't know, maybe a little bit of freshness and the way they have to repeat today, they had to play some players that probably weren’t in the best condition to play because we don't have other players.

"But that's it. That's the context of it..."

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