Arsene Wenger has been accused of being “disrespectful” of Paris Saint-Germain‘s efforts in Ligue 1 by midfielder Thiago Motta.
The Brazilian has taken a swipe at the Gunners boss ahead of Arsenal and PSG’s penultimate Champions League group stage game at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
The French coach took charge of two Ligue 1 clubs over a ten-year period, beginning his management career at Ligue 1 club Nancy in 1984 before winning the title as Monaco boss four years later.
But with PSG having been French top flight champions for four consecutive seasons since the Qatari takeover in 2012, Wenger believes the Paris club aren’t being pushed to win league outings.
The Arsenal manager suggested said in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that PSG had pulled out their best performance against the Gunners in the “early season”.
“PSG played their best game of the early season against us,” he said. “We had a great performance from our goalkeeper. But this is an opportunity for us to show that we have progressed.
“I don’t think they’re always pushed to win their league matches so it’s better to draw on their potential from Champions League matches.”
But now Motta has hit back at Wenger’s comments, claiming there are, in fact, his side approach every game with “100 per cent effort” and PSG face a “number” of “very good” sides in Ligue 1.
PSG’s Thiago Motta (L) and coach Unai Emery during their pre-match press conference.
“Everyone has their own views and he is very familiar with the French league because he is a Frenchman,” Motta said ahead of the game, via the Evening Standard. “We try to approach every game with 100 per cent effort, we know that it’s tough.
“He has been in football for a number of years now and occasionally you might be disrespectful towards French sides because actually there’s a number of very good sides in the league.
“What we try to do is do our work on a weekly basis, win the matches we have to play. I guess we’ll find these things out at the end of the season.”
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