Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has praised Ousmane Dembélé’s defensive commitment ahead of next week’s Champions League final against Arsenal, saying the France forward has become a benchmark for coaches due to the intensity he brings without the ball.

“That’s Ousmane’s mentality. Every coach should show how he defends,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Wednesday.

“We always tend to highlight what forwards do in attack but never what they do defensively. Ousmane always shows his individual quality on the ball and his ability to perform without the ball.”

Dembélé has emerged as one of the key figures in Luis Enrique’s PSG rebuild, with the Spanish coach demanding that even his most creative attackers contribute consistently to the team’s pressing and defensive structure.

That evolution was also evident during last year’s Champions League final against Inter Milan, where PSG’s collective intensity and work rate stood out as a defining feature of their performance.

Television cameras captured Dembélé locking eyes with Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer before sprinting forward to initiate PSG’s press — an image that perfectly reflected the aggression and discipline Luis Enrique demands from his frontline.

PSG went on to dismantle Inter 5-0 in the final, securing the club’s first Champions League title, with Dembélé’s intensity and work rate setting the tone just as much as his attacking contribution.

The French forward now heads into this year’s final after another standout European campaign, having developed from a largely instinctive dribbler into one of the most complete attacking players in Luis Enrique’s system.

Dembélé has been managing a minor calf issue following the end of the Ligue 1 season last weekend, but Luis Enrique expects his squad to be at full fitness for the final. Full-back Achraf Hakimi has also returned to training ahead of the showdown.