After the Champions League spectacle between FC Bayern and PSG, Mikel Arteta makes a clear statement – and sees clear advantages for the competition
The spectacular 5:4 between FC Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final caused a stir across Europe. Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta also watched the game – and had clear words afterwards
The Spaniard himself had just drawn 1-1 with the Gunners in the semi-final first leg against Atlético Madrid, but compared to the attacking fireworks between Bayern and PSG, this encounter was far less spectacular
Arteta was impressed by the quality of the game: „When I watch this game, Bayern against PSG, it’s probably the best game I’ve ever seen in terms of the quality of the two teams and, above all, the individual quality of the players – I’ve never seen anything like it.“
At the same time, however, the 43-year-old qualified his statement and referred to the different conditions: „But when I look at the number of minutes played and the freshness of these players, I’m not surprised.“
Arteta sees differences in the workload
According to the Arsenal coach, the decisive difference lies in the workload. „To deliver such high quality, you have to be in top form, and the difference between the leagues and the way they play is like night and day,“ he explained
In England, the burden of additional competitions and a more intense league is significantly higher: „We’re comparing two completely different worlds here. You can’t look at one aspect of it in isolation without considering the context – I don’t think that’s fair.“
Another point for Arteta is the availability of players: „When you talk about the other two teams (PSG and Bayern; editor’s note), how many players were available? All of them, and in top form. That’s the most important thing.“
However, the Spaniard disregarded the fact that FC Bayern are also currently struggling with injury concerns – among others, Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl are missing important options in the squad
A look at the statistics nevertheless reveals differences: Arsenal players have played significantly more minutes on average than Bayern’s professionals, with the Gunners averaging 1,821 minutes per player compared to 1,497 minutes for the Munich side
However, this comparison is only meaningful to a limited extent, as Bayern have used more young players over the course of the season, who only play a few minutes and distort the average accordingly.