Paris Saint-Germain can reach new heights in UEFA Champions League final against Arsenal, says boss Luis Enrique

A year ago in Munich, Enrique stood in tears as PSG produced the defining performance in club history, defeating Inter 5-0 to claim the Champions League for the first time.

On a night that will endure in European football folklore, it was teenage prodigy Desire Doue who confirmed his emergence as one of the extraordinary young talents seemingly destined to shape the sport for the next decade.

Beyond the scale of PSG's triumph lay a personal narrative. For Enrique, the victory elevated him into an elite group as only the sixth manager to win Europe's premier club competition with two different sides, following his earlier success with Barcelona in 2015.

The broader footballing story, however, belonged to PSG themselves. Their dismantling of Inter was not merely emphatic but historic - a display of technical brilliance, tactical precision and attacking fluency that ranks among the greatest ever witnessed in the competition, both in the modern Champions League era and the old European Cup.

It was a result which struck fear into the rest of the continent - but with it, too, came a target for others to overcome.

For Enrique, living up to the expectations set 12 months ago has made reaching a second successive final all the more satisfying.

"I think we can do much more things than last year, but we did it because [our opponents] have obliged us to do it," the Spaniard told TNT Sports.

"We prefer to get the ball, we prefer to keep the ball, but when you have to adapt because the other side is better than you during moments of the match, you have to adapt, and you have to defend even better. I think we did that clearly.

"We defended much better against Chelsea [an 8-2 aggregate win in the round of 16] than we did in the final of the Club World Cup.

"We defended better against Liverpool [in the quarter-finals] and we did the same against Bayern Munich [in the semi-finals]. We defended much better in the second match than the first one.

"We can still improve, but that doesn't mean that we don't want to keep the ball and try to play with the same idea, but we're now much more powerful in defence."

Arsenal have kept 32 clean sheets across all competitions this season, six more than any other side in Europe's big five leagues.

The Gunners' formidable back-line has also restricted eight Premier League opponents this term to not a single shot on target, another all-time record in the division.

While their tally of 69 goals scored is a modest total, Enrique believes Arsenal's strengths lie in keeping the opposition at bay, highlighting their prowess from dead-ball situations.

When asked what problems Mikel Arteta's side could cause his side in Budapest, Enrique added: "I think they're the best team without the ball in the world.

"Their structure without the ball, out of possession, is clearly the best.

"Their stats are amazing. Everybody knows that they are very strong without the ball, but they score a lot of goals, set pieces and the things that they dominate.

"That's a very nice combination for a team. That's why they haven't lost a single match in the Champions League.

"We are trying to overcome them in the final and try to play the best way we can. I think it's going to be a nice final."

Completing a packed month of European club finals, the UEFA Champions League final sees Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain, exclusively live on TNT Sports & HBO Max from Budapest on Saturday, May 30.

TNT Sports' coverage will kick off with a 'Champions League Final – Super Weekend' show presented by Reshmin Chowdhury live from 10:30 UK time, with guests from across the sporting and entertainment world. 

Live coverage of the game will begin from 15:00, kick off at 17:00, and Laura Woods will be joined by Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and Martin Keown.

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