Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reveals ‘surprise’ omission of PSG ‘key player’ Ousmane Dembélé | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé (27) has been a mainstay in the PSG side that currently sit top of Ligue 1. The France international has featured in all six of Les Parisiens league games, scoring four goals and registering four assists in that time. He started and registered an assist during the 3-1 victory over Stade Rennais on Friday evening.

It therefoe came as a great shock, therefore, when the French winger was left out of the travelling squad to face Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League. Whilst the rest of his teammates have already travelled to London ahead of Tuesday night’s match at the Emirates, Dembélé remains in Paris.

L’Équipe and RMC Sport understand that the former Barcelona winger’s omission is the result of disciplinary measures after a reported argument between the player and manager Luis Enrique after the victory over Rennes. Like many, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his surprise at the decision during an interview with Canal Plus.

“I heard the news just before the press confernece. I was surprised. I don’t know what happened. We’ve already done a lot of preparation on PSG playing with him because he’s a key player for them. He has the ability to do something unexpected, to create these magic moments. Let’s see who is going to be there [to replace him],” said Arteta.

The Spaniard is seemingly happy that Dembélé, the “most destabilsing player in the world”, according to Luis Enrique, will not be part of the equation on Tuesday night.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle