The 7,000 minutes difference - why PSG could have edge over Arsenal

Some of the numbers for individual players are eye-catching. Les Parisiens' club captain Marquinhos has started 14 of those European games – the same number of total appearances he made in the league (11 starts, three as a substitute). From 13 February to 19 April, the decorated Brazil defender didn't see a single minute of league action, remaining an unused sub in seven successive games. He played every minute of the holders' six Champions League fixtures in that timeframe. Ballon d'Or holder Ousmane Dembele completed 90 minutes in the league only once in 22 appearances. Fellow forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played for the duration just twice in 28 matches. On 12 May, Dembele controversially won the Ligue 1 player-of-the-season award for the second year in a row, registering 10 goals and seven assists. He started a mere 11 league games (nine at the time of the award), featuring in 22 out of a possible 34 overall, although a succession of injury problems did cause him to miss 10 of those. Luis Enrique's policy of rotation – he used 28 players in league fixtures versus Arteta's 25 – did come at some cost, albeit not a telling one. Three of their six league defeats – against Marseille in September, Monaco in November and Lyon in April – came immediately after Champions League ties. Midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery played more league minutes than anyone else in the PSG squad with 2,453. Six Arsenal players clocked up more than that. …