"November 2015. The Allianz Arena, Munich. A decade ago, yet a lifetime away for Arsenal in the Champions League. That night Arsene Wenger's team were so shredded in a 5-1 defeat by Bayern Munich that my Guardian colleague David Hytner likened them to the chicken feed from the lower reaches of the Bundesliga that Bayern routinely gobble up. It was Arsenal's jointworst result in Europe. And to rub it in, Bayern repeated the trick the following season."
"Back then English football wasn't just off the pace in the Champions League but in danger of being lapped. Across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, only two Premier League teams Manchester City and Leicester made it past the last 16. Remember the bloodletting and postmortems? The grasping for reasons why, for all their riches, English teams were struggling in Europe? The endless calls for a winter break?"
Arsenal suffered a 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in November 2015 and experienced repeat 5-1 losses the following season. English clubs struggled in the Champions League across 2015–16 and 2016–17, with only Manchester City and Leicester advancing past the last 16. Club Elo ratings now place Arsenal at the top, Bayern third, and twelve Premier League clubs inside the top 20. Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain continue to produce dominant domestic wins. The contrast raises questions about whether easier domestic competition helps preserve player freshness for Champions League knockout stages.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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