History just repeated itself for Arsenal which may have cost them against PSG

On Sunday, around one million Gooners filled the streets of Islington to celebrate the best season they've all experienced for a very long time, potentially ever. Mikel Arteta and his team are Premier League champions, ending Arsenal's 22 year wait for a league title. However, it could have been so much more. The way this campaign ended might just have bee reminiscent of 46 years ago for some.

Back in 1979/80, Terry Neill's team played 70 matches across all competitions, which remains officially a world record. They were beaten in the FA Cup final by West Ham, the last time a team from outside the top division won the competition, as well as losing the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final on penalties against Valencia just four days later. Well, this time round, Arteta's team were defeated in March's EFL Cup final against Manchester City, before Saturday's heartbreaking Champions League final defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, again after a shootout.

Arsenal matches played: 1979/80 vs 2025/26

Well, this season, Arteta's team almost played the maximum number of games they could have, only two short, courtesy of their FA Cup sixth round elimination at Southampton. Crucially though, unlike in 1980, the Gunners have a league title to show for all their efforts which, given all of their other commitments, is a significant feat.

Sticking with this theme, as noted by Harvey Downes of Opta, nine different Arsenal players made 50 or more appearances this season. This is the most the club have had in a single campaign since, you guessed it, 1979/80. Back then, and fair play to him, Brian Talbot featured in all 70 matches. Not far behind, Frank Stapleton, Graham Rix, Pat Jennings, Willie Young and Alan Sunderland were all above 60 appearances, with David O'Leary, Sammy Nelson and Liam Brady in the 50s.

Arsenl players most appearances 2025/26

Note: statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

So, did this fatigue catch up with Arsenal? Well, this issue was even more pronounced considering it was Paris Saint-Germain who they faced at the Puskás Aréna. Les Rouge-et-Bleu cruise to the Ligue 1 title year after year with a minimum of fuss, allowing Luis Enrique to rest and rotate throughout the campaign. Before the final, as noted by Opta, PSG's starting lineup played a combined 15,377 league minutes this season, a number dwarfed by Arsenal's 21,458.

Just David Raya, Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard played 15 more league minutes than Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI in Hungary. Whether or not this cost Arsenal Champions League glory, the tie was decided by a penalty shootout after all, is impossible to prove one way or another. Nevertheless, Arteta's insistence that every competition is a priority, especially the EFL Cup, might just be unsustainable.

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