The details behind Ousmane Dembélé’s (27) disciplinary breach have been revealed in a report by Foot Mercato.
Luis Enrique made the surprising decision to leave Dembélé out of the squad that travelled to London to face Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The winger was sorely missed during the Ligue 1 title holders’ visit to the Emirates Stadium as they lost 2-0 in a largely unthreatening display.
Reports emerged that the Spanish manager had omitted Dembélé because of an argument after Friday evening’s game against Stade Rennais. The right-winger reportedly did not appreciate Luis Enrique’s criticisms of his performance in front of goal in the 3-1 victory.
However, Luis Enrique has denied these reports, and pointedly stated, “I don’t want to make a soap opera out of this… The issue concerns the player’s obligations towards the team, it’s not a problem between player and manager.”
Dembélé’s timekeeping blamed in surprising decision
Foot Mercato writes that the real reason why Luis Enrique decided to leave Dembélé out of the team was because the France international arrived very late to training following the Rennes game, and did not provide a justification for why he was late. Luis Enrique is thought to have been furious enough to omit the winger from the Champions League tie for this disciplinary breach.
