Arsenal are the world's best team without the ball, says PSG boss Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique has "no doubt" that Arsenal are the best team in the world without the ball and is forecasting an intriguing Champions League final between the Gunners and his Paris Saint-Germain team.

PSG and Arsenal will face off in Budapest on May 30, with the French giants looking to become the first team other than Real Madrid to defend the Champions League title.

Their swashbuckling style has seen them score 44 goals in this season's Champions League, the second-most by any team in a single edition, after Barcelona netted 45 times in 1999-00.

By contrast, Arsenal's run to a first European showpiece since 2005-06 has been built upon a rock-solid defensive record.

The newly crowned Premier League champions only conceded two goals in their six knockout-stage games, beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate, Sporting CP 1-0 and Atletico Madrid 2-1.

In 14 games in this season's competition, they have only conceded six times, while facing 11.74 expected goals against (xGA) and 39 shots on target.

PSG eliminated Arsenal at the semi-final stage last season, so Luis Enrique is aware of what is required to beat the Gunners, but he nonetheless expects a tough test. 

"We've got experience of playing against ‌Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, and we ⁠know full well ‌how good they are on the ball," Luis Enrique said on Wednesday.

"Off the ball, they're the best team in the world, no doubt about it. 

"With the ball, they’re capable of scoring plenty of goals, and ⁠it's only natural to see them in the final. 

"It'll be a very tough final with two teams approaching it in two different ways. ‌But I think we're in for a great final."

Of the 44 instances of a team playing 14+ games in a Champions League campaign, Arsenal are the only one to remain unbeaten through their first 14 matches of a single edition.

Should the Gunners triumph in Hungary, they will become only the sixth team to win both the English top flight and the European Cup/Champions League in the same campaign.

Liverpool did so in 1976-77 and 1983-84, Manchester United in 1998-99 (also won the FA Cup to make it a treble) and 2007-08, and Manchester City in 2022-23 (also won the FA Cup to make it a treble).