The Premier League has had better weeks. A right old bruising in the Champions League. Won’t somebody think of the coefficient?

There were wry smiles across the continent on Thursday morning when the self-proclaimed Best League in the World saw its remaining Champions League hopes extinguished. There will be no English club in the semi-finals for the first time in four years.

Bayern Munich are enduring their worst season in recent memory and gently eased Arsenal on to the hard shoulder. Real Madrid taunted Manchester City into a penalty shootout and, with their voodoo in this competition, prevailed as everybody inside the Etihad Stadium expected them to once it came down to nerve and kicking stationary balls from 12 yards.

They are smirking because of the money and if we’re really honest, it’s difficult to blame Spaniards, Germans, Italians or the French for that. The wealth and power wielded over here has crushed the other big-five leagues both commercially and on the pitch; English teams were represented in five of the past six finals, winning three.

By contrast, this season’s effort has been middling at best. Newcastle came last in a strong group, Manchester United did what Manchester United do. City weren’t quite clever enough to break down a stubborn Real with the frequency required — and then missed presentable chances when they did — while Arsenal’s inexperience cost them.

Arsenal were naïve against Bayern Munich, but fatigue was also a factor 

But after such a period of dominance, Wednesday night did leave you wondering whether English football’s ecosystem helps or hinders its elite sides. All but eight clubs in the country will say the former — especially given the announcement of significant changes to the FA Cup. 

The larger clubs in question will, without doubt, side with remarks made by Jose Mourinho to Mail Sport back in 2016. 

‘The Premier League and the internal competitions create a very difficult situation for the clubs,’ Mourinho said. ‘Other countries care a lot about the Champions League. In this country the Premier League will always come in front. The institutions that lead the competitions make it very clear.

‘The institutions do not give you that little protection which can be crucial — 24 hours more, 48 hours more, to rest and prepare.’

While he divides opinion, at least three of the country’s leading managers are known to sympathise with what Mourinho had to say — and it still rings true now. 

As they were not in the Spanish Cup final, Real had the weekend off before the quarter-final first leg against City, with Rodri — shortly before asking for a rest — admitting Carlo Ancelotti’s side began the tie far fresher. They have featured in eight matches since the start of March, City are on 10. Meanwhile, Arsenal had an extra game to contend with over the past six weeks compared to Bayern.

It doesn’t sound much. Then again, these games are not won by much. Guardiola attempted to mitigate the issues by resting half of his team, including Rodri, for the 5-1 win over Luton Town on Saturday and City bounded into that second leg with more energy. But they were out on their feet by extra time, with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Manuel Akanji all asking to come off.

The level of injuries in this country is inescapable, increasing in a way that players and medical professionals had warned of in the summer. 

Guardiola has made 90 changes to his starting XI in the league, owing to fitness issues rather than design, while Arteta is a third fewer. For all of their electricity and excitement, Arsenal’s lack of variety in team selection — William Saliba has not missed a minute, Declan Rice featuring in 93.2 per cent of them — may have contributed to a dip in performance.

Guardiola has rotated in a smarter fashion and the way he had managed the schedule until this point made you feel that they were in a position to repeat last season’s Treble. 

Then again, after watching walking football break out in extra time at the Etihad on Wednesday night, perhaps last year was just a freak and no English team has the right to do such things.