Mikel Arteta Gives Key Reason Why Arsenal Cannot Match Excitement of PSG vs. Bayern Munich

The Gunners have come under fire for their approach to matches this season.

Mikel Arteta has been forced to defend his approach. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted the only reason Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich were able to play out a Champions League classic is because both teams can afford to take their foot off the gas in weaker domestic competitions.

PSG’s 5–4 win over Bayern has been widely hailed as one of the best matches of all time, with both sides offering up unbelievable attacking quality and sparking a debate over the direction of the modern game in leagues like the Premier League, which has developed into slower, more methodical competition.

The end-to-end nature of PSG’s victory is particularly alien to Arteta, whose Arsenal side have faced significant criticism for a cautious on-field approach. According to the Gunners boss, this is the only way to survive in a competitive division like the Premier League.

“The quality of the two teams, and especially the individual quality of players, I have never seen something like this,” Arteta said. “But when I look at the amount of minutes and the freshness of those players, I’m not surprised.

“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. You just have to see a lot of stats around it. We are comparing two different worlds.”

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Does Arteta Have a Point?

PSG and Bayern put on a match for the ages. | Maja Hitij/UEFA/Getty Images

While Arteta’s approach to management has not won him many admirers outside of Arsenal, there is obvious validity to his words.

Bayern arrived at the PSG game having already been crowned Bundesliga champions. In anticipation of the trip to Paris, manager Vincent Kompany attempted to rest nearly his entire starting lineup, only to be forced to turn to big names like Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala off the bench after his side were 3–0 down to Mainz at half-time. Bayern went on to win 4–3.

As for PSG, Ligue 1’s willingness to postpone domestic fixtures to give the Parisians an entire week to recover earlier in the tournament has been widely panned. They were not afforded the same luxury before Tuesday’s semifinal first leg and so, like Bayern, opted for a rotated squad for a 3–0 win over Angers.

Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or holder and the Player of the Match against Bayern, has started just nine times in Ligue 1 this season and has played fewer minutes across all competitions than 14 players in Arteta’s Arsenal squad.

Dembélé is still PSG’s top scorer with 18, while his 10 Ligue 1 strikes leave him seventh on the division’s scoring charts.

Clearly, the immense quality in the PSG and Bayern squads had a major part to play in the quality of the match, adopting an entertaining gameplan that has not been seen at Arsenal for a while now, but in Arteta’s eyes, it is simply not possible to demand that level of running from his fatigued squad.

While Arteta could rotate more, the boss believes the risks of doing so in England are far greater. A weakened squad were stung by second-tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarterfinals in April, while the neck-and-neck title race with Manchester City means every second between now and the end of the season is vital.

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