Luis Enrique laughs off 'farmers league' jibe after PSG topple more English opposition | OneFootball

Arsenal follow Premier League rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa in being bested by the French champions this season

Luis Enrique hit out at criticism of the standard of Ligue 1 after his Paris Saint-Germain side knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League.

It was a hard-fought semi-final second-leg win for PSG, who were pinned back by the Gunners for long stretches in the first half before Fabian Ruiz struck on the volley to open the scoring and Achraf Hakimi added a second goal after the break.

PSG have a strong record against Premier League sides this campaign, previously knocking out both Aston Villa and Liverpool after beating Manchester City during the league phase.

Enrique laughed off the sentiment that Ligue 1 has the lowest standard of Europe’s top five leagues, which has led many a punter to describe it mockingly as a ‘farmers league’.

Asked if he was proud to have knocked out the two top sides in the Premier League this season, the Spaniard laughed: “The league of farmers, no? We are the league of farmers!”

Enrique continued, saying his team were thriving under the global spotlight.

“Now we are enjoying not only the result, but also the confidence of everybody speaking about our team,” he said.

“We are a young team, but the mentality, the character, and the way we play football is nice.

“It means a lot [to reach the final]. A lot. We dreamed of a Champions League final. Our first goal when we arrived in Paris was to make history and we are on the right path.”

Previewing the final, where PSG will face Inter Milan in Munich later this month, Enrique is taking nothing for granted.

“It is going to be tough,” he said. “But I think [Inter] have the same feeling. It will be an interesting final, very difficult for both teams.

“I think they are getting the second final in three years, which means they are a great team, but we have time to analyse Inter. Now it is time to celebrate.”