Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described the Champions League semifinal first leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich as the best game he has ever witnessed, however he attributed it to the teams competing in "different worlds" domestically.
PSG beat Bayern 5-4 in Paris on Tuesday in what was the highest-scoring Champions League semifinal game in history. Arsenal drew 1-1 at Atlético Madrid on Wednesday in their Champions League semifinal, with many remarking negatively on the level of attacking quality on show compared to the previous night.
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Arteta, though, said that it was unfair to compare the two games due to Bayern's and PSG's players being far fresher than Arsenal's at this stage of the season.
"Bayern-PSG is probably the best game I have ever witnessed on the quality of two teams, and especially the individual quality that the players deliver," he told a news conference Friday.
"I've never seen something like this. But when I look at the amount of minutes and the freshness of those players, then I'm not surprised. To deliver those moments of quality, you have to be very fresh and the difference in the leagues and the way they compete is night and day, and you just have to see a lot of stats that have been recently around it.
"We are competing in two different worlds, so you cannot compare one part of that without giving any context to that. I don't think it's fair."
PSG are six points clear at the top of France's Ligue 1 and look set for a fifth successive league title and 12th in 14 years. Bayern, meanwhile, have already secured a 13th Bundesliga crown in the last 14 seasons.
Arsenal, by contrast, are locked in a battle with Manchester City as they seek a first Premier League title since 2004.
Arteta again on Friday called on the Premier League to do more to help teams competing in Europe by providing a more favorable schedule.
However, despite the second leg with Atlético in north London upcoming on Tuesday, Arteta insisted that Arsenal are fully focused on Saturday's Premier League game against visiting Fulham.
With title rivals Manchester City not in action until they travel to Everton on Monday night, Arsenal have the chance to go six points clear at the top of the table -- at least for a couple of days.