An uncomfortable two days for Italian football in the Champions League. First Inter lost in Madrid against Real. Then, on Wednesday evening, Napoli fell to a narrow defeat against Arsenal at the Maradona — a match in which the quality difference between the two sides was considerably wider than the scoreline suggested. Alessandro Del Piero was in the Sky Sport studios to deliver his verdict — and when the subject of unavailable players and alibi-seeking was raised, he reached immediately for the example that carries the most personal weight.
“At the 80th Minute It Was Napoli Who Were Tired, Not Arsenal”
Del Piero’s tactical reading of the Napoli-Arsenal match was precise and unsparing. “Did the quality make the difference? At the 80th minute it was Napoli who were tired, not Arsenal — also because the English managed possession much more, given their characteristics and their way of playing. Players like Ødegaard thrive in a system like that and come from an extraordinary season behind them. From a psychological standpoint, I think that also had its weight.”
He expanded on the structural dynamic that made the fatigue so significant: “Saka and Arsenal’s other wide players could take their men on with legs still fresh, whilst those of Napoli were forced to chase for three minutes and then immediately had to be ready to reverse the action. It is not only a question of tiredness, but also of playing style, positioning, confidence, and the quality of more established players on one side.”
“Alibis? Juventus Have Seven Players Out — But Look at What Real Did Against Inter”
On the broader question of whether the lack of depth — specifically Napoli’s absence of a back-up for several positions — justified the defeat, Del Piero was characteristically direct and introduced the Juventus parallel that will generate the most discussion.
“The Champions League is not the national championship. How should you approach it? You play in the best way you can — there is no dosing of energy or having two players for every role: you must always give the maximum. We played many times in complicated conditions. These alarm bells linked to not having a back-up full-back are, for me, simply alibis. I think of Juventus — who have seven players unavailable. At the end of the day, that is a lot. But just look at what Real Madrid did against Inter: they had five players out and fielded Alexander-Arnold in midfield.”
It is the most pointed possible application of the injury crisis context — not to excuse Juventus for any failure, but to frame the level of response that the elite game demands of those who wish to compete within it. Injuries are not alibis. They are challenges to be met.
“After Spalletti’s Scudetto, Everyone Thought Napoli Wouldn’t Win Another for Thirty Years — I Disagree”
Del Piero’s final observation concerned Napoli’s longer-term trajectory — and arrived as a generous corrective to the pessimism that has surrounded the club’s recent struggles under Allegri, who has now lost three consecutive matches.
“After the Scudetto won by Spalletti — when he was Napoli’s manager rather than Juventus’s — we all thought: the next one Napoli wins will be in thirty years. I instead say that Napoli is one of the realities of today’s football. They won the Scudetto two years ago and they play in the Champions League. Then, in the course of seasons, squads change. Players like Kvaratskhelia and Kim — nobody could have imagined how much they would grow and what they would do. But Napoli remains a very solid and consistent club.” It is the generosity of a man who reserves his sharpest verdicts for those closest to him — and who, in the week that Juventus’s injury list reached seven, chose to use his own club’s adversity as a lesson in competitive standards rather than a source of sympathy.
