LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes it is too early to judge whether English sides are in decline in the Champions League despite three of the four Premier League sides losing the first leg of their last 16 ties.
Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to European champions Bayern Munich, after being reduced to 10 men in the first half, and their French coach said no conclusions can be drawn until after the second legs.
“I think you have first to realise that all four (English) teams came out of the group stage. That means the level is there,” Wenger said on Thursday.
“After only one game, you cannot judge a general trend.”
Ten-man Manchester City lost 2-0 to Barcelona, English champions Manchester United went down by the same score to Olympiakos and Chelsea drew at Galatasaray in the last 16.
England are rated second to Spain in UEFA’s rankings but are in danger of having no team in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the second consecutive season. Last season only Arsenal and Manchester United, who hold the record for the most Champions League quarter-finals with Bayern and Barcelona, reached the knockout rounds.
“Let’s wait until the end of the second game before talking about a trend of strength or weakness,” Wenger said. (Reuters)
