PSG’s Luis Enrique says lessons learnt from Nantes low-block could apply to Arsenal encounter

Paris Saint-Germain struggled to break FC Nantes down on Tuesday night as the Ligue 1 champions were held to a 1-1 draw at the Beaujoire.

Luis Enrique rotated his side. With the Ligue 1 title already secured, Les Parisiens nonetheless want to retain their invincibility in the league and become the first French side to go a whole season unbeaten. Despite that, it is clear that the UEFA Champions League is the priority. Achraf Hakimi was notably rested against Les Canaris, whilst Ousmane Dembélé was featured less prominently in Ligue 1 in recent weeks.

PSG looked out of sorts as they struggled to break through Nantes’ low-block. Despite taking the lead through Vitinha midway through the first half, Les Canaris looked dangerous on the counter-attack and got a late goal through Douglas Augusto to secure what for them could be a valuable point in their fight against relegation.

Whilst a different sort of game will be expected against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League next week, Luis Enrique believes that some of the lessons learnt could aid Les Parisiens’ preparation. “We need to know what Arsenal we will face. If they score quickly, they might be in a low-block thereafter. At the start, they should press more. We will adapt,” began the Spaniard.

The PSG manager added, “Here (at Nantes) we lacked movement off the ball at the start of the match. We changed things and we broke into the opposition half without the ball more.”