Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has claimed that Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich compete in 'different worlds' to Premier League teams, attributing the difference in attacking quality in the Champions League semi-finals to the 'freshness' of players.
PSG edged out the German champions 5-4 in a thrilling first leg at the Parc des Princes, while Arsenal ground out a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid. Arteta believes PSG and Bayern's star players were fresher due to less demanding domestic leagues.
"To deliver that much quality you have to be very fresh, and the difference in the leagues and the way they are competing is night and day," said Arteta. "You just have to see a lot of stats around it. We are comparing two different worlds."
Arsenal's starting XI in their semi-final first leg have played 32,508 minutes this season — more than any of their rivals left in the competition, with Atletico on 31,701, Bayern on 31,522, and PSG on 29,968. Premier League and La Liga teams play 38 domestic matches, while Bundesliga and Ligue 1 sides play 34 due to having 18-team leagues.
David Raya (4,140 minutes), Martin Zubimendi (4,096), Declan Rice (4,002), and William Saliba (3,774) were all in the top five out of the four starting line-ups. Rice has played 359 more minutes this season than England teammate Harry Kane — almost four full matches.
"The quality of the two teams [PSG and Bayern], and especially the individual quality of players, I have never seen something like this," added Arteta. "But when I look at the amount of minutes and the freshness of those players, I'm not surprised."