Enrique's gamble to leave out Dembele backfires badly against Arsenal

Luis Enrique took a big gamble by leaving Ousmane Dembele out of his squad for Paris Saint-Germain's biggest game so far in the new campaign, as they visited Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

It backfired at the Emirates Stadium. Badly.

Dembele was fit and in form, but PSG's coach benched the French forward because of a perceived lack of commitment, and decided he could do without his services against one of the European continent's best sides.

"If someone does not comply with the requirements from the team, it means that they are not ready," Enrique said before the game.

To fill the huge void left by the prolific forward – Dembele had already scored four goals and added three assists in French Ligue 1 matches this season – Enrique slotted Desire Doue and Lee Kang-in up front alongside Bradley Barcola.

Facing an Arsenal back-four playing at their best, PSG's attackers were largely non-existent in London, where the buoyant PSG fans did a better job than their players while watching the shorthanded team lose 2-0 on the second matchday of the league phase in the revamped Champions League.

Mikel Arteta's Gunners looked like a far more mature team as they outclassed the Ligue 1 champions, with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scoring in the first half for the hosts.

Despite the struggles of Les Parisiens, Enrique took time to try and adjust his lineup, making his first substitutions in the 64th minute when Randal Kolo Muani and Fabian Ruiz entered the match. PSG played better afterward, but it was too little, too late.

"It's easy to say after the match that one player has to play, and that another should have not," Enrique said.

With PSG's keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma seemingly at fault on both goals, the coach stepped up to take the blame for the stinging loss.

"I'm responsible for the defeat," Enrique said. "Their defenders always anticipated what our forwards were doing, and our forwards never managed to anticipate their defenders."

The win was Arsenal's first in this season's continental competition, after the London side settled for a draw in their opener against Italian Serie A club Atalanta last month.

PSG, who went into kickoff unbeaten in all competitions, had started their European campaign with a win against Spanish La Liga squad Girona. But with one of the club's best players left off the squad for the trip to the British capital, they slumped to their first loss in rather uninspiring form.