PSG/Arsenal – Sakho explains what has changed under Luis Enrique

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·29. Mai 2026

PSG/Arsenal – Sakho explains what has changed under Luis Enrique

Speaking to PSG’s official website, Mamadou Sakho, former Paris Saint-Germain defender, offered a powerful take on the club’s evolution ahead of the Champions League final against Arsenal. The former academy product emphasized Paris’s long-term building process, Luis Enrique’s impact, and the mental strength of a group that will still need to avoid the trap set by the Gunners.

Sakho: “A club becomes great over time”

“For me, a club becomes great over time. I think Paris Saint-Germain has built itself up. It had to go through tough times, very tough times even, but that is part of building a story that is becoming stronger and stronger. Today, this is the pinnacle! We managed to lift the big-eared cup, to bring it back to the Eiffel Tower. There should be no regrets. Everything that happened to Paris Saint-Germain had to happen so that these moments could be enjoyed even more and so that we can hope to follow it up with a second victory. At the start of the season, nobody imagined we could make it back to the final… and we did it! Now I hope we can bring it back to Paris once again.”

In Mamadou Sakho’s words, there is naturally a measure of affection for his boyhood club. But there is also a fairly accurate reading of what PSG has gone through to reach this level. Paris did not become a European reference simply by stockpiling talent. The club also grew through disappointments, criticism, painful eliminations, and seasons where the gap between ambition and reality was sometimes brutal.

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That journey gives even more weight to this new final today. Under Luis Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain seems to have found a stronger cohesion: a collective idea, a clear framework, and a team capable of suffering together. Ahead of Arsenal, that is a huge strength, provided they do not believe the story has already been written.

Sakho: “Nothing happens by chance”

“For me, it’s not an achievement because nothing happens by chance. It’s just that Luis Enrique has that determination, and the players do too. The coach has a very clear message, and the players are able to absorb it and put it into practice on the pitch. We see a young team that enjoys playing together on the pitch and puts in a tremendous amount of effort, all together. W e often talk about results, but you also have to look at the way they come. It’s not just about putting on your boots and going out onto the pitch. The guys give absolutely everything in every match and go and get the results. They have truly exceptional mental strength.”

This passage perfectly sums up Paris’s transformation. Sakho is not just talking about a talented PSG, but about a group that understands what its coach is asking and accepts making the necessary effort to apply it. That is where Luis Enrique has profoundly changed the face of the team. Paris attack, press, run, defend, and keep pushing with an intensity that no longer relies solely on the inspiration of a few individuals.

This collective strength will be essential against Arsenal, a team capable of closing spaces, slowing the tempo, and pushing its opponent into frustration. The danger for PSG is therefore clear: stay true to its principles without falling into impatience. A final does not only reward the best team on paper, but the one that keeps its calm and clarity for the longest.

Sakho: “Paris always manages to tip the balance in its favor”

“The Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich sums it all up. That attacking fire, that defensive solidity, against a very big team… It sums up today’s Paris Saint-Germain. Paris always manages to tip the balance in its favor, and that is no coincidence.”

The reference to Bayern Munich is not insignificant. For Sakho, that two-legged tie showed the full face of the current PSG: a team capable of producing madness going forward, but also of holding firm in tougher moments. That may be the major difference compared with some PSG sides of the past.

Paris no longer win only when everything is going smoothly. They also know how to resist, absorb pressure, bounce back, and turn a match through their intensity. Against Arsenal, that maturity will be essential. The Gunners will not come to accompany Paris’s coronation, but to break that momentum and impose their own script. PSG have the weapons, the momentum, and the confidence. But they will have to play this final as a conquest, not as a confirmation already secured.

Underlying it all, Mamadou Sakho is therefore reminding us of a simple truth: this Paris Saint-Germain side is strong because it has been built over time, through effort, and through a real commitment to Luis Enrique’s project. Now it remains to turn that strength into control. Against Arsenal, the trap will not only be tactical. It will also be mental.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.