Luis Enrique wants to rest his stars for the Champions League but they keep having to dig out the team in Ligue 1

By Get French Football News

Luis Enrique said it was “typical” that Paris Saint-Germain only managed to see off promoted Le Mans after his four changes around the hour mark. But it is also worrying and borderline damning.

Ligue 1 has felt like a side quest for PSG in recent years. Not only have the club succeeded in rearranging league games to aid their Champions League campaign, but their stars rarely feature in the domestic league. Ousmane Dembélé started just 12 Ligue 1 games last season, but that didn’t prevent him winning – contentiously – the player of the season award. He was not on the teamsheet on Saturday night when PSG hosted Le Mans, nor was Nuno Mendes. Both were rested. It’s only mid-October, but it is already clear where PSG’s focus lies.

Too engrossed with the World Cup drama to keep up with goings-on in the transfer market? We’ve got you covered

Announced just before England’s soul-sucking semi-final defeat by Argentina, it would have been easy to miss Trossard’s £15.3m move to Istanbul. While, after three and a half seasons and at the age of 31, it feels like his time at Arsenal has come to a natural conclusion, he will be remembered as a player who scored in clutch moments and, ultimately, played a crucial role in the club’s first league title in 22 years. Trossard departs after 174 appearances and 36 goals, a significant portion of which came from the bench in times of desperate need. He will be missed and deserves to be revered as one of the cult heroes of the Mikel Arteta era. Will Magee