At PSG more than elsewhere, life is not a long calm river… It is in this context that Warren Zaire-Emery discovers the professional world. “At another club, I would never have experienced this… Hectic weeks? Every week, there are new things, ”smiled the 17-year-old titi, first-grade student, on Sunday after the Parisian victory at Troyes (1-3), during the 34th day of Ligue 1. A match for which Christophe Galtier called on him… as a right piston. “We worked well this week, we prepared well. With the suspension of Achraf Hakimi, I had decided that it would be him”, indicated the Parisian coach in a press conference, he who also had to do without the services of Nordi Mukiele and Timothée Pembélé, the two other natural options on the right. . Desert.
But the native of Montreuil did not ask for his rest. He saw others, he who had played right midfielder against Bayern (0-1), in the knockout stages of the Champions League. “Piston, it’s not my job… But I’m doing the best I can. The coach put me in that position. I don’t have a lot of playing time so I give everything and do my best,” he said on Amazon Prime Video. And to clarify, about his low playing time: “It’s incredible … I never thought I would play so much. I think I’m at 17 matches (27 in fact, editor’s note). I have little playing time, few minutes, but I go to every match. All while reconciling the life of a pro player and a high school student. “It is not easy. I arrive at training in the morning, classes in the afternoon and study in the evening, ”he further detailed after the game.
One thing is certain: whether as a central midfielder, his favorite position, or elsewhere on the pitch, “WZE” always shows the same maturity, great solidity, a great ability to project himself . No doubt: Paris Saint-Germain have a nugget. A player on whom we also have great hopes at the FFF. There is something. “He is a very young player, one of the Parisian titis. Whatever we say, there are some who will have played this season, ”squeals Galiter, who has been criticized for his lack of appetite for tapping into the pool of young shoots from the training center. And to add: “He was very good, very good at the position and very intelligent in the management of his game.”
The figures abound in the direction of Galtier: first Parisian player in duels won (9), successful tackles (6) and successful dribbles (3), but also second in the number of balls recovered (8) and third in key passes ( 2) – pass that results in a shot – Warren Zaire-Emery has completed 65 of his 67 passes, six of his nine tackles and won nine of his 16 duels. 92 balls hit for six lost and one interception. Clearly, the titi did the job, and a little more than that because he was not evolving in his position. And this in a match where PSG had no room for error. “We lost against Lorient at home (1-3, in the previous game). The goal was to win, show another face, put some intensity. That’s what we did, “he savored, while PSG now has a six-point lead over Lens in the standings, with the prospect of an 11th French championship title. It would obviously be the first for the U19 international, who had not started since the victory in Brest (1-2), on March 11, just after the elimination in C1.
Admittedly, the Trojan opposition was not very tough on Sunday. Estac is weak. But in the current context, after hurricane Messi last week or storm Galtier more recently, the overall performance of Paris Saint-Germain is to be appreciated at its fair value. “We knew there was room behind them. They weren’t well aligned. We knew how to push forward to make the right calls”, analyzed the young boy, imagining that his little comrades and himself will be able to have a “good week to work well, it will be good”. And God knows that in Paris, tranquility is a luxury that should be enjoyed every second… But in the end, it is above all Warren Zaire-Emery who will do good for Paris Saint-Germain. And for many years no doubt.
