Ousmane Dembélé confirms he is fit to face Arsenal: “I wasn’t scared about missing this final”

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With just over twenty-four hours to go until the Champions League final kicked off, Ousmane Dembélé was first up from the Paris Saint-Germain delegation to face the press in the build-up to the match.

Having struggled with injury at various stages of the campaign, most recently with a calf issue, the French international insisted that he would be fully fit for tomorrow night’s clash.

“I was never scared about missing the final. I had ten, fifteen days to prepare for it. We haven’t had much time off this season, so the coaching staff has done very well to manage it. I’m feeling 100% fit, and the rest of the squad is ready as well.” The forward would go on to join his teammates during the open training session held at the Puskás Aréna on Friday evening.

Just as his manager did later on, Dembélé made it a point to praise the Premier League champions: “Arsenal are a very good team, as we saw with their Premier League title win as well as in the league stage of this competition. They deserve it, they’re a very good team that plays well and is good in attack and defence. They’re also impressive when it comes to set pieces, everyone knows that.”

The Frenchman also brushed aside any suggestion that he might be resting on his laurels after winning the Ballon d’Or last year. “It hasn’t really changed the way I am or my style of play. I know that I have a lot more responsibilities since I’ve been at PSG, and I try to play well in both the big games and the smaller ones.”

“It hasn’t changed my desire and my hunger to win trophies with this club. That’s all I’m thinking about, I know that people talk a lot individual trophies, but that comes later.”

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Puskás Aréna, Budapest