Arsene Wenger is wrong; Europa League winners should qualify for the UEFA Champions League

Arsene Wenger is the latest voice adding to the argument that the Europa League winners should not qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Only a cynic would suggest that this desired rule change that’s been in place for 10 years is only now being suggested because the current system could benefit Manchester United, but putting the floundering Red Devils to one side for the moment, there’s every chance that it’s Tottenham who reap the rewards.

The timing of the call with an all-English final now widely expected, despite there being no suggestions prior to that, is likely coincidence.

Of course, there’s an outside chance that Bodo/Glimt could go on to reach the UEFA Champions League for the first time, and who’s arguing about the rules then?

Asked if it was right that the Europa League winners should qualify for the UEFA Champions League, Wenger said on beIN Sports: “No. They should qualify automatically for the Europa League again. Not necessarily for the Champions League. Especially when you're in a league where five teams qualify."

In recent years we’ve seen Villarreal (seventh), Eintracht Frankfurt (11th) and Sevilla (12th) win the Europa League and rightfully take their place amongst Europe’s elite. Even Manchester United themselves have benefitted from the rule.

As the 2016/17 season approached its climax, it became clear that Manchester United’s best chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League wasn’t by cracking the top four, but by overcoming Celta Vigo and then either Ajax or Lyon.

Without the carrot of the UEFA Champions League, Jose Mourinho may have prioritised the league and sacrificed the Europa League; as it happened, Mourinho put all his eggs in the European basket, resting players in a crucial match in the race for the top four against Arsenal, going on to lose 2-0 in a limp display. United would beat Celta Vigo to reach the final, where they would beat Ajax.

The difference this season is that both United and Tottenham have been so egregiously bad that the argument is that neither side deserves to reach the UEFA Champions League.

But it misses the point; the rule change served two purposes: firstly, it gave more gravitas to the Europa League; secondly it gave teams who might not have secured their place in the UEFA Champions League a path to Europe’s top table.

It never seemed quite right that a team could win the Europa League and that was the end of the road. Had they not got to the UEFA Champions League via their domestic efforts, they’d be back to defend their title the following campaign when it felt like winning the competition deserved a bigger reward.

As it happens, both United and Spurs have been utterly miserable this season, but it’s not their fault that they’ve prioritised the Europa League as a result – that’s not to suggest that they’d have been catapulted up the table had they not, but it’s certainly had an impact – it’s merely the product of the footballing eco-system.

Take Fulham as an example; in their first season back in the Premier League having spent years as a yo-yo club, their wage bill was more than Athletic Club’s. Twelve months later and Athletic Club finished fifth in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey; they were still spending less than a relatively new Premier League side.

English clubs can simply outspend their European counterparts, regardless of whether they’re in European competition or not.

It also means that the Premier League’s representatives in European competition – particularly the Europa League and Conference League – will have the best chances of winning it. In each of the four Conference League seasons, there’s been an English side in the semi-finals. West Ham went on to win it two years ago (and were dragged into a relegation battle before going on to finish 14th) and Chelsea will likely follow suit.

The Premier League nowadays is enormously competitive between the 17 established clubs. Yes, United and Spurs will finish a long way below where they’d have expected to this season, but that’s a result of playing in what is now by far the world’s toughest league, and neither side would be where they are in La Liga or the Bundesliga.

There’s no denying both Spurs and United have failed this season and a Europa League win wouldn’t suddenly turn a bad season into a good one, but either of them winning it would be done so on merit, and they deserve all the rewards that come their way.

Liam Williams

• Manchester United F.C.
• Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
• UEFA Champions League
• Europa League
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