Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has questioned whether struggling domestic sides like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur should be allowed to qualify for the Champions League through Europa League success, a scenario both clubs are currently on course to exploit.
Man Utd and Spurs are languishing in 15th and 16th place respectively in the Premier League, but convincing first-leg wins in their Europa League semi-finals — 3-0 over Athletic Club for Utd and 3-1 over Bodo/Glimt for Spurs — have put them in pole position to set up a winner-takes-all final in Bilbao later this month.
Current UEFA rules grant the Europa League winners automatic entry to the following season’s Champions League, regardless of domestic league performance.
But Wenger, the pantomime villain of so many Arsenal and Utd encounters during his 22-year reign as Gunners boss, is not convinced that such a backdoor route is fair.
In an article on TNT Sports covering quotes from an interview with BeIN Sports on whether it was right for Europa League winners to qualify for the Champions League, Wenger said:
“No. They should qualify automatically for the Europa League again, but not necessarily for the Champions League.
“Especially when you’re in the Premier League, where already five teams qualify. I think it’s something [for UEFA] to think about and to review.
“On the other hand, people will tell you that to keep the Europa League focused, interesting and motivated, you need to give them that prize.”
A recent change to UEFA’s format will already see the English top-flight awarded a fifth UCL spot next season due to the nation’s strong coefficient rating.
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“With more teams now qualifying for Europe, the gulf inside the league will become even bigger.”
Asked whether the increase in Champions League representation from single leagues was a positive development, Wenger responded:
“I don’t believe so.
“It will make the difference between the top teams in England and the rest of Europe even bigger, because you would say only a few teams now can compete with the Premier League teams in the Champions League.
“It can be Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and then, financially, you’re already at the end basically.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Man Utd have relied on the Europa League to save a disappointing season. In 2016/17, they won the competition under Jose Mourinho despite finishing sixth in the Premier League.
If Utd can repeat that feat this season, or if Spurs can end a 41-year European trophy drought, then the Premier League sides will record a bit of history.
No club finishing lower than 12th in the Premier League has qualified for the Champions League via the Europa League since the tournament’s rebrand in 2009.