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Wenger Would Welcome Another All-English CL Final
'The Professor' would plop for Premier League prestige over global spectacle if he could decide who will be contesting Europe's top trophy come the end of May.
Mar 23, 2009 12:02:26 AM
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger would not at all be adverse to another all-English Champions League final as he would regard it as validation that the Premier League is truly the strongest in the world.
Manchester United famously pipped Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the final in Moscow last year, and with last year's finalists along with Arsenal and Liverpool now still going strong in the final eight of the competition, few would bet against a repeat in terms of the home country of the clubs involved in the super showdown this May.
“It would be good for England but maybe not liked by the rest of Europe,” Wenger acknowledged on Arsenal's official website. “I would say it would be fantastic for England because it would show in the country we work well and the quality of our game is maybe the best in Europe.
“I believe what you want to see is quality. When you had four Spanish clubs in the quarter-finals I didn't think that was boring. I just asked what do they do differently to us, to get that success.
“The rest of Europe will not want us to repeat this success but it will be down to our quality.
“Let’s get one step at a time. We have learned a lot from our experience in the Champions League and I have learned one thing - you cannot miss five minutes in any of the two legs in the quarter-finals, no matter who you play.
“Take our game against Liverpool, you could never predict what happened in that.”
The first legs of the quarter-finals are April 7-8 and the return matches are April 14-15.
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
Manchester United famously pipped Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out in the final in Moscow last year, and with last year's finalists along with Arsenal and Liverpool now still going strong in the final eight of the competition, few would bet against a repeat in terms of the home country of the clubs involved in the super showdown this May.
“It would be good for England but maybe not liked by the rest of Europe,” Wenger acknowledged on Arsenal's official website. “I would say it would be fantastic for England because it would show in the country we work well and the quality of our game is maybe the best in Europe.
“I believe what you want to see is quality. When you had four Spanish clubs in the quarter-finals I didn't think that was boring. I just asked what do they do differently to us, to get that success.
“The rest of Europe will not want us to repeat this success but it will be down to our quality.
“Let’s get one step at a time. We have learned a lot from our experience in the Champions League and I have learned one thing - you cannot miss five minutes in any of the two legs in the quarter-finals, no matter who you play.
“Take our game against Liverpool, you could never predict what happened in that.”
The first legs of the quarter-finals are April 7-8 and the return matches are April 14-15.
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
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