There was quite a difference in spectacle this week in the Champions League between the two semi-finals. After the crazy PSG-Bayern (5-4), the next day’s AtlĂ©tico-Arsenal (1-1) suffered from the comparison. But there are explanations for this according to Mikel Arteta.
“Bayern-PSG is probably the best match I have seen, both in terms of the quality of the two teams and the individual level of the players”first confided the Arsenal coach. Before adding a downside.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. But when I see the playing time and the freshness of the players, I’m not surprised, added the Spanish technician. To achieve such feats, you have to be in great shape, and the difference between these two championships and their style of play is obvious. You only need to look at recent statistics to be convinced. »
PSG and Bayern are favored
Arteta thus repeats a speech heard this week in England. Premier League clubs would thus be disadvantaged compared to Bayern and PSG, who benefit from a more favorable context. They only play 34 days of the championship, have no League Cup to play, and dominate their championship so much that they can afford to rotate the weekends. As a result, they are fresher to play intense matches in the Champions League at this stage of the season.
“We play in two different worlds, so we can’t compare a match without context. I don’t think it’s fair,” thus denounces Arteta. Several English media have thus relayed the number of minutes played in Ligue 1 by PSG players. Injured time during the season, Ousmane Dembélé only played 930 minutes, the equivalent of 10 entire matches, and 34% of the total possible minutes.
Conversely, for Declan Rice, it is 2,855 minutes of playing time in the Premier League, for 93% of possible minutes. Despite several periods of absence this season, Bukayo Saka (2,011 minutes in the PL) has played significantly more in the league than Bradley Barcola (1,488 minutes), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (1,324 minutes) and Désiré Doué (1,154 minutes).
