(Photo by Carl Recine, Julian Finney/Getty Images)
It’s been argued for some time now that PSG have an unfair advantage in Europe due to the quality of their domestic matches, allowing them to essentially field one line up for Ligue 1, and another more star-studded XI for the Champions League.
The numbers back this up. By the time PSG and Arsenal met in last season’s Champions League final, the Gunners players that day had amassed 6,726 more minutes than their opponents…
Arsenal’s disadvantage was two-fold, in that they’d played more matches due to not having the same luxury to frequently rest players, while the matches they were playing in would also have taken a great deal more out of them. While a rotated PSG XI can beat 6th placed Rennes 5-0 at the Parc des Princes, a full-strength Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to 6th placed Bournemouth.
Clearly, this is not a level playing field, but has Mikel Arteta worked out his strategy to combat it in 2026/27?