Luis Enrique sends Mikel Arteta message before PSG vs Arsenal final showdown

Luis Enrique is expecting a “difficult” test when Paris Saint-Germain come up against Arsenal in the Champions League final as he prepares to lock horns with long-time friend Mikel Arteta once more.

It set up a final showdown with Arsenal at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, with the Gunners having secured their progress 24 hours earlier when Bukayo Saka’s late first-half goal sank Atletico Madrid 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate following a controversial 1-1 first-leg draw in Spain .

The game also sees Enrique once more go up against Arteta, a former team-mate at Barcelona with whom he has stayed in touch ever since their paths first crossed at the Camp Nou in the late 1990s.

Arteta spoke at length before last season’s Champions League semi-finals on his great admiration for Enrique and the support he showed him when he was trying to break through as a youngster at Barca, also hailing his coaching exploits and character, calling his fellow Spaniard an “unbelievable personality”.

Arteta said then: “For me, he’s one of the best coaches in the world and someone who helped me a huge amount.

I have the utmost respect both for how he is as a person and his way of working.”
Such warm respect is clearly reciprocated by Enrique, who praised the job Arteta has done at Arsenal as he predicted a tough challenge in the final - but expressed his confidence in PSG’s attacking style to get the job done.

“I appreciate Mikelito Arteta!” Enrique said after PSG squeezed past Bayern, per Fabrizio Romano.

“We used to be team-mates when we were kids, he did a great job at Arsenal.

“It will be a difficult, hard game but we believe in our football style.”