AFC have the CL in the bag from 2012 onwards

Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will have a much better chance of winning the Champions League when they are the only team competing in it. Speaking ahead of today’s Manchester City clash the Frenchman was referring to the new FIFA rules set to come into play in 2012 which means any club competing in the competition must be breaking even over three years. The format could feasibly see Shakhtar Donetsk sneak through too but Wenger believes his Arsenal side could see them off in the group stages.

‘Of course, from a neutral point of view watching my players stand around waiting for some opposition could be a little less entertaining than the current structure but we can always have a training match or possibly bump forward the half time 50-50 draw. What I do know is that all the top players will want to come to Arsenal because we will be the only team playing Champions League football. I won’t be able to buy them because if I Idid we wouldn’t be able to play either, but at least the thought will be there.’

Asked whether he believed teams like Manchester City would just fiddle their financial numbers in order to compete Wenger added ‘they will have to have one very, very bad accountant. It’s one thing if you’re close to the right figure but if you’re spending £7billion on things like building Yaya Toure a personal helipad or using the facilities at M15 to keep Carlos Tevez locked down and away from airports, someone might notice that you’re only making £5million a year on ticket sales and match day pies…’

http://www.theda.co.uk/2011/01/weng...-champions-league-featuring-just-arsenal.html