Should the Champions League be shaken up?

The Arsenal manager has called for the creation of a "real Champions League".

Wenger insists a European League of nine or 10 clubs, would generate more TV interest and would provide a genuine contest of the best teams in Europe.

Uefa already intend to revise the current contest from next season, but the Gunners boss is not a fan of the proposals.

Should the Champions League be for title winners only?

There used to be a pecking order in the European tournaments, with the European Cup having the most kudos because it was the hardest to get into, and once in, every game mattered. So Wenger is right - time to go back to this.

Make the qualifying principles that you either win your domestic championship, or get through to at least the semi-finals for the previous year. But let's not apply this retrospectively, and somehow argue that United in 1999 was "lucky" or "undeserved".
Mick, UK

I totally agree with Wenger. Hypocrisy aside, the best games come in the knock out stages, and the drama of the first leg of Man Utd's game is what the competition used to be about. Now it's just money and advertising, with the clubs to challenge Uefa's recommendation to reduce it back to one group stage.

I am sick of seeing the same protagonists contest the quarters. Give me the days of the two best teams meeting in the first few rounds (ala Notts Forest v Liverpool in the 80s), the unknown foreigners beating top class opposition. I don't want to see Bayern v Real every year - those clashes used to happen very infrequently. That's what made European competitions special.
Dave Spears, UK

What nonsense! The Champions League was developed to find out who the best club side in the world are each season - which is what most people want, and the only way to ensure this is by letting some non-champions in. Only in England have the Champions been consistently the same team season after season (Man Utd). In most leagues, the team that takes the title are very often not the best team the following year.

How many of you hypocrites are licking your lips for a CL final between Sconta Riga and FC Copenhagen this year, when Real Madrid and Man Utd were on the menu (both non-champions)?

If the competition is changed to only include champions, the quality will plummet (there will be only four decent teams in the competition - one from Italy, one from England, one from Spain and one from Scotland, I mean Germany), as will interest from TV, Arsenal will go out following a humiliating away defeat to Bosnia-Nevaheardia, more money will go out of football, and Wednesdays will be back to watching Bond again!!!

Are you sure you want this to happen?

If the Champions are true champions and so much better, why do they hardly ever win it? The current CL is a true test of quality over a consistently difficult season involving the best teams in the world, and don't forget it.
Bronzed, England

Wenger's comments make a lot of sense. I have long thought that the European Cup should only contain domestic champions. A nine or 10 team league format is also a good idea.

All these people calling Wenger a hypocrite are ridiculous, he is not going to be an idiot and turn down the option of playing in the Champions League if Arsenal did not win the league just because he disagrees with their qualification for it. That would just be silly.
Neil Carter, England

The European Cup shouldn't be for champions only, so let's change the name of the Champions League back to the European Cup and make it for the elite of Europe but not just league champions.
Luke Henderson, UK

The only farce with the Champions League is the name. Simply change the name to 'The Uefa Club Championship' and voila!
Jonathan, Manchester,UK

What were Mr Wenger's views on this when Arsenal were in the competition as runners-up in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001? He obviously feels that runners-up are more of a threat than the champions!
Jane, England

The Champions League needs revising, but the Spanish, Italian, German and (perhaps) English leagues should have more teams than the other less successful countries. Putting the champions of Finland against Real Madrid does not equate to "the best playing the best".
Richard Higginbottom, England

Obviously the "Champions" League should be just that. If it keeps going on the way it is, it will be the top 10 who get into it every season. How can Rangers get into it when they finish second in the Scottish League - what a joke. Next season they'll be letting the winners of Sunday pub leagues into it!
Wayne Kennedy, Ireland

Of course he only wants "Champions", he is scared enough facing Liverpool in the Premiership let alone in Europe!
Daniel Walsh, UK

It is time that charity for the big clubs was stopped! Winners only! Stop funding the fat cats and bring back the winners cup!
Aldo, UK

I remember growing up and the European Cup was the pinnacle of football, the winning teams of Celtic, Man Utd, and Liverpool were gods, now the whole thing seems a little tawdry.
Andy, Scotland

The competition has been a betrayal of the very idea behind its foundation since Uefa decided to let also-rans compete in the 'Champions' League. Somewhere along the line it became evident that the point of football wasn't to be a winner, it was simply to provide a pretty backdrop for advertising corporations to flog their products, and to provide ITV with something different to put on a Wednesday night other than a James Bond film.
Thom Boston, London, EU

As it stands at present the Champions League is a joke. How can a country have three or four teams in the competition? However, this is, and always has been about money - the original format was designed to give automatic entry to the league stage of the eight countries with the largest TV audience and it remains so today.
William, New Zealand

I agree with Wenger, and I am a Spurs fan. You cannot claim to be Champions of Europe when you are not Champions of your own country.

However, I think everyone is getting carried away with this European idea, can you tell me how many 'great' games there have been since the introduction of the so called Champions League? I can't recall that many. European football, especially Italian is very slow and boring to watch, give me an English game anytime, like Chelsea v Man Utd last Friday!
Tony Turner, England

I agree we should have a real Champions League, with the winners taking part. However, Mr Wenger's timing is as always, suspect! Perhaps he should concentrate more on eliminating his opponents on the field first!
Andrew, Brasil

Wenger's comments seem ill-advised but he is right in one respect - the current format of the Champions League does not grab the imagination until the knock-out phases, something that Uefa are trying to tackle by reducing the number of group games.

Wenger's suggestion of a "Super League" comprising the champions of the 10 top European nations is riddled with flaws. Who decides which nations are in the "top 10"? How do nations outside the top 10 gain entry into this elite group? What Wenger fails to see is that the gap between elite and the rest needs closing, not widening.
Andrew, UK

Arsene Wenger has got it spot on; only the champions of each league should enter the Champions League. It doesn't matter if your the champions of San Marino or Spain they should gain entry to the Champions League.
Chris, Belfast

Wenger is saying this for one reason and one reason only - to try and wind up Fergie on the eve of Man Utd's qualifying tie. Along with everyone else, I notice no mention of this was made when Arsenal sneaked in through this "back door". I have huge respect for the Arsenal players, but the hypocrisy of their manager never fails to annoy me....
ST, Glasgow

I am a Man Utd fan and I agree with Arsene Wenger. The Champions League should be for the champions of every European league and not for second and third placed teams. This is one of the main reasons the domestic leagues are not as great anymore when teams such as Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool can be happy with third and a place in Europe.
Craig, Salford, England

I am tired of not only Wenger but Liverpool fans who begrudge Man United their 1999 triumph. They are all very content to take the chance when they finish runners up.

However, the tournament should be revamped. Why not fix the size of a European squad to give the smaller teams a chance? I bet Mr Wenger wouldn't like that it might give the Bayer Leverkusens of the world a chance.
Bhupinder Grewal, UK

How can a team be champions of Europe when they haven't even been crowned champions of their own country? As for those who are calling Mr Wenger a hypocrite, the man is not stupid. He isn't going to bite the hand that feeds him and turn down a place in the Champions League, even if Arsenal aren't champs, but he does have a right to an opinion.
Chris Holt, N. Ireland

I disagree, the best games of the past years have come as a direct result of the new Champions League format... we all want to see the biggest teams of each nation fight out... as far as I am concerned Wednesday night clashes are the best football to be seen in the world!
Phil, Switzerland

Mr Wenger has obviously let his team's recent success go to his head. I cannot imagine him making such comments this time last season.

I can however see where he is coming from; in the current Champion's League set up there are too many non-events. Nobody wants to see Olympiakos play Heinsborg when they could watch Real Madrid play Juventus.
Joe Daniels, England

I agree, even though as a Leeds fan I suppose I should be against on the basis that we're unlikely to be winning the league any time soon! The whole expansion of the Champions League has been at the expense of the other European tournaments: Cup Winners Cup has gone and the Uefa Cup has been devalued to such an extent that the winners receive less in TV money than teams who merely qualified for the first round of the Champions League.

Domestic football suffers as teams field second string scratch squads in the Worthington and FA Cups to save players for the "really important games" where a top four place in the Premiership and qualification for the CL could double a club's annual turnover. Again, this devalues the domestic cup tournaments.

When the TV financed gravy train finally pulls into Bankrupt City I very much suspect we'll see more interest in the FA Cup by the big teams who realise that Silverware is the next best thing to hard cash.
Mik F, UK

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Uefa must consider this as a stab in the back as Arsenal have funded the squad which won last year's Premiership on the back of money gained from their entry into the Champions League as non-champions over the last few years.
Steve, UK

How typical of Arsene Whinger to state the Champions League should be for champions only. Perhaps he has forgotten about the money his team has gained from the Champions League during the last three seasons whilst being non-champions. I wonder if he will change his mind again in May if Arsenal doesn't win the Premiership?
Anon

The proposal makes good sense as it would a) restore prestige to the tournament and b) reduce the huge number of competitive games expected of top flight European teams (we all saw the devastating effects of this on players during the World Cup).
Satori, England

The man knows no shame! He certainly would not have said that last year, or the year before. I think he just hopes the chances of Arsenal of proceeding are better if there a fewer teams in the competition.
Graham, UK

Mr Wenger has been more than happy for his team to participate in the Champions League in the past, despite not having been Champions. I use the term "participate" with caution, however, as Arsenal were little more than bystanders....
Maxine, UK

In common with others, I note Mr Wenger didn't make these suggestions when Arsenal were perpetual also rans. However, that said, I think a shake up is needed and the competition has been devalued lately. The scrapping of this silly group phase is well overdue.

As for a European Super League, it will happen I am sure, and there will probably be three teams from the UK involved, Man Utd, Arsenal and Celtic.
Stuart, Basingstoke, UK

While I agree with what Wenger proposes in principle, I find it interesting that he never said this when Arsenal qualified for the Champions League as runners up?!
Jon, UK

The hypocrisy of Wenger should come as no surprise. The whole Arsenal team reeks of hypocrisy everytime they are up in arms when fouled, yet they are the dirtiest team in England.

So now a team that has made millions from the Champions League, despite continually entering as runners-up, decides it should be for champions only. He didn't call for it then, so why now I wonder?

Judging on past performances, if Arsenal are to represent England as our only team it will be a little embarrassing to say the least. Perhaps he realises that two other teams from England that didn't enter as champions have a better chance of winning it?
R Callister, UK

I totally agree with Wenger although I hope he didn't say this because Arsenal were champions last year. I have often wondered why the Champions League wasn't for champions only. Having only champions gives it more acclaim!
Toba, Africa

He is just being big headed because his team won the Premiership last season.
Ijaz Ahmed, Bradford, UK

The Champions League should be shaken up - but not in this way. It should be turned into a true European league, played on Wednesday nights throughout the season. This would provide top quality European football to the best clubs in Europe throughout the season.
Danny Davis, UK

I assume he will change his mind next season when he finishes second to Liverpool in the Premiership.
Lee Sharrock, Liverpool

I note Mr Wenger didn't have much to say in this regard for the past couple of seasons. Mind you judging by the Arsenal performances (whenever they've entered this competition) a reduction to ten teams would at least offer Arsenal a chance of reaching the semi-finals!
PC, England