Can a game be lost before it has even been played, you wonder?
Frankly, based on this season’s statistics, Arsenal are not just underdogs heading into tomorrow’s Champions League final against holders Paris Saint-Germain, but they are already sunk.
Not only have Arsenal played more games than any other team in any of the top five European leagues this season, having gone deep in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, but it seems that their opponents have been saving themselves for this competition alone.
Although you could point out that PSG have played the same number of games as Arsenal this season (63) if you include their seven matches at last summer’s Club World Cup, the difference in the amount of minutes played by those likely to line up in Budapest is glaring.
Unlike Mikel Arteta, who has consistently been tested and stretched as Arsenal ground their way through the marathon of one of the most challenging Premier League seasons in terms of the strength of opposition, PSG’s Ligue 1 campaign has been a comparative walk in the park.
So much so that Enrique opted to rest his best players for the majority of their games, to save their legs for the prized Champions League.
The difference in the amount of minutes played by those likely to line up in Budapest is glaring
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, for example, started just 11 of their 34 Ligue 1 games. Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Fabian Ruiz made 13 starts each; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 18; Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi 16; and Marquinhos 11.
These have not all been substitute appearances either. Not a single one of those players has even played half the available minutes in the top flight this season.
Mendes and Marquinhos have actually played more minutes in the Champions League this season than in Ligue 1, despite PSG having 18 fewer games in the competition.
While some of this can be put down to injury, the numbers show that it has largely been due to rotation, and it also delivered them a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title, so it came at little cost.
Arteta, in comparison, appears to have stuck more closely to a favoured starting XI as the season reached its climax. David Raya played every minute in the Premier League until it was won.
Declan Rice missed just two Premier League games, and his midfield partner, Martin Zubimendi, missed none. William Saliba and Gabriel come close behind that pair, with 49 and 50 games played respectively.
Of the players to have played 3,000-plus minutes this season between the two teams, only three PSG players rank in the top 12 (at fourth, seventh and eighth).
It seems that Enrique has had his eyes on retaining his prize the entire time. On Saturday evening, we will find out whether it was all worth it.
