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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

Existential angst stalks the Premier League but does it mean anything?

Pedro Porro looks stunned as Tottenham head out of the Champions League
Pedro Porro and Tottenham were winners against Atlético but it was not enough. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

TOO MUCH PERSPECTIVE

Another night in Bigger Cup and the hopes and dreams of another two teams from The Best League In The World™ were brought to an end in varying degrees of ignominy. Of the six teams that advanced to this season’s Round of Arsenal, only two (including Arsenal) made it into the quarter-finals. This state of affairs has prompted all manner of existential angst for assorted Premier League cheerleaders. Never mind the fact that Barcelona are simply much better than Newcastle, or that Spurs have been complete bobbins for the best part of three seasons, the media needs a narrative. Thus, the mass exodus of English top-flight clubs from the last 16 must mean something. And so it has come to pass that an army of chin-stroking statto types who in previous cycles have mused that the likes of Paris Saint-Germain couldn’t hack it in Bigger Cup because their domestic league isn’t competitive enough, have now decided the reason so many Premier League sides hit the bricks is because the English top flight is just too darned competitive.

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