The painfully obvious reason why Arsenal look fatigued right now

As we enter May, will this be the most successful month in Arsenal's entire history? The Gunners are in a strong position to reach the Champions League Final, following Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano. Viktor Gyökeres emphatically converting a spot-kick on the cusp of half time.

Meantime, in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta's team will move six points clear at the top with victory over Fulham on Saturday evening, albeit Manchester City would of course have two games in hand. However, the Gunners' form has unquestionably dipped in recent weeks, beaten in the Carabao Cup Final, crashing out of the FA Cup and losing back-to-back Premier League games in late-March and then early-April. Well, this should not be a surprise, considering they have played the most matches of any club in Europe this season.

Matches played in 2026 by selected European clubs

It is no surprise to see so many Premier League teams on the list of clubs who have played the most matches this season. Fellow Champions League semi-finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are aided by the fact that both the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 only have 18 teams in them.

The Gunners' opponents Atlético Madrid have played the highest possible number of European games so far, including the play-off round, and reached the Copa del Rey Final, falling one short of the maximum number of matches, given that they were beaten in the Supercopa de España semis. Well, should Arsenal beat Atleti next Tuesday, they would have played 63 games this season, as a result of their exploits on the continent and in the Carabao Cup.

An FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Southampton is the only reason why Arteta's team cannot reach the maximum number of matches they could play. So, what is the most fixtures a club has played in a single campaign, and where do Arsenal this season rank?

European clubs to play most matches in a season

By our count, there have only ever been six occasions where any top-flight club across Europe has played more matches than the 63 Arsenal will have featured in, should they reach the Champions League Final. All of them, apart from Real Madrid 2001/02, are English, with los Blancos winning the Champions League during the tournament's very unpopular second group phase era.

The European record, as far as we can tell, for most fixtures played in a single campaign is in fact held by Arsenal, playing 70 matches in 1979/80. In those days, FA Cup replays were unlimited, so Terry Neill's team played Liverpool in the semi-finals four times, the first three ending all square before eventually prevailing 1-0 at Highfield Road. By the end of the season, unsurprisingly, the team were so exhausted they couldn't cope, beaten by second-tier West Ham in the FA Cup Final and then Valencia in the Cup Winners' Cup Final in Brussels four days later.

So, will a repeat of that May heartbreak be on the cards? Well, David Raya, Martín Zubimendi and Declan Rice have all racked up 4,000+ minutes this season, while William Saliba and Gabriel are also above 3,500 minutes. So, how does this compare to other leading clubs?

European clubs whose players have accumulated the most minutes

Very few players across Europe have racked up 4,000+ club minutes this season, with Arsenal's trio all set to increase their tallies, fitness permitting. PSG have one player above this threshold, namely Warren Zaïre-Emery, while Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai have done so for Liverpool, but the vast majority of Europe's leading clubs have no one above this mark thus far.

Put succinctly, burnout could be a major issue facing Arsenal, both mental and physical but also psychological, with four Premier League games to go, as well as hopefully two in the Champions League. They say a season is like a marathon, with the Gunners merely looking to crawl over the line.

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