Brian's Empire KE
Arsenal's Champions League disadvantage is clear and Bayern Munich and PSG have no excuse
Arsenal earned a strong result in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at Atletico Madrid and rivals PSG and Bayern Munich have no excuses as advantage becomes clear
View ImageMikel Arteta was forced into some second-half changes that altered the shape of the side and tweaked the tactics, while also keeping their Premier League match with Fulham on Saturday in mind. Their hopes of domestic glory are in the balance, with the gap between themselves and Manchester City as close as it probably ever will be.
Any slip, any dropped points, anything other than victory, and it could end the dream of ending their 22-year wait for the league title. City exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid, and as a result their domestic performances have improved, as the rigour that English clubs face season on season was lightened.
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Tuesday night bore witness to an astonishing semi-final as PSG overcame Bayern Munich in a nine-goal thriller, ending 5-4 in favour of the Parisians. The game was lauded as the advert for the competition, while the likes of Arsenal and, to a lesser extent, Atleti were chastised for their inability to ever create such a spectacle.
Listening to what Simeone said post-match, the Gunners' fatigue is clear to their opponents. “[Arsenal] looked a bit tired from so many games, so much responsibility," he said.
"They're top of the Premier League. They need to win the Champions League, all of that."
Arsenal have beaten both PSG and Bayern in the last year, but were knocked out by Luis Enrique’s side months later in last season’s semi-final. The Gunners went into the game with their two strikers injured and midfielder Mikel Merino selected as the centre-forward, who deputised well, scoring against Real Madrid in the previous round as they eliminated the then-champions.
Gabriel Magalhaes was also missing having suffered a hamstring injury playing in the Premier League. This weakened Arsenal fell to defeat in both games, as Enrique had the full might of his PSG squad at his disposal in each leg.
Bayern have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title, while Ligue 1 is yet again a formality for PSG, set to win their fifth successive league trophy; their eleventh of the last 13 years. Atleti, meanwhile, are set to finish comfortably inside the Champions League qualification spots in La Liga, the fourteenth time in a row they would have done so.
These clubs have a distinct advantage over Premier League sides like Arsenal. As a lover of Spanish football, having grown up on it and with a soft spot for Espanyol, this rant of sorts is not coming from the perspective of a “farmers league” labeller, and ten years ago, I personally felt La Liga was the better league compared to the English top flight.
A decade later, it is not even close, and while Arsenal are the only English side remaining in the Champions League, it is no surprise Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are all in semi-finals in the Europa and Conference League, respectively.
It could be that there will be an English club in the final of each of the three UEFA competitions come May. This would be a massive achievement, but further fuel the gap that has emerged between English clubs and their continental counterparts.
This is despite being at the disadvantage of having weekly tests far more frequently challenging than their European opponents face. There might be no better evidence to support this argument than the PSG players’ league minutes.
Riccardo Calafiori is considered a player who has been frustratingly absent for Arsenal this season. The Italian has been suffering from multiple injuries, and even then, Piero Hincapie has done excellently to claim the starting spot.
That said, Marquinhos, Ousmane Dembele, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes, Kvaratskhelia and Hakimi have all played fewer league minutes than the Arsenal left-back. Some have had small spells out with injury, but more prevalent is Enrique’s ability to be able to rotate and rest with far less fear of dropping points domestically.
This, despite the cheek of the Spaniard to recently highlight that PSG would be playing nine games in 27 days. Without context, you might think that this shows how gruelling their schedule is, until the realisation that they created this problem for themselves by postponing matches like against RC Lens to aid their preparation for the tie with Liverpool in the quarter-final.
Since 2013, Bayern have won all but one of their Bundesliga seasons, Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten campaign being the only one which could interrupt their dominance. At the weekend, having won the league already, resting players against Mainz, they went 3-0 down.
Vincent Kompany, in the second half, brought on Jonathan Tah, Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Josip Stanisic, players rested for their clash in Paris, and they won the game 4-3, three of the five on the scoresheet. Arsenal this weekend face a Fulham side sitting tenth in the Premier League, fighting with six other sides to qualify for Europe.
I’d be happy to pin my name to the view that The Cottagers would beat 31 of the 36 Ligue 1 and Bundesliga teams. Many will say it should be considered that their budget is likely larger than all 31, many times over, in most cases, but equally, it paints the picture of the level sides like Arsenal are playing week in week out.
While this has come across as something of a moan over an element of the game Arsenal cannot control, instead, it is a call to appreciate just what an achievement it is for Arsenal to be at this stage.
The Gunners need to win trophies; the amount of investment and time into this project without silverware since 2020 is an uncomfortable reality. Yet, that being said, nights like Wednesday remind us just how impressive this Arsenal team is, and the work that has gone into restoring this sleeping giant to one of Europe’s best sides.
Tom Canton
Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV
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