Wenger’s comments come in the wake of failed plans for a European Super League
Arsene Wenger claims Europe “dreams of destroying the Premier League” amidst the fall-out from the failed European Super League.
Late last Sunday, 12 of Europe’s biggest football clubs revealed plans to form a continental super league.
Six Premier League sides were involved in the discussion – Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs.
News of said plans enraged both football fans and federations such as UEFA and the FA.
"Stand up if you hate Kroenke!"
Thousands of Arsenal fans turned out at the Emirates on Friday night to call for the Kroenke family to sell the club after their role in the Super League fiasco. pic.twitter.com/gMNS0tO6B5
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 24, 2021
By Tuesday night, the plans looked to be crumbling as, one by one, clubs began pulling out in response to a fiery backlash from fans and notable names such as Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher.
Ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also counts himself among its opponents.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Wenger said the Super League would have “destroyed, 100 percent” the Premier League.
He said: “It was born dead. From the start, I couldn’t believe it would work.
“The most surprising in all that was the English behaviour. Everybody dreams of destroying the Premier League in Europe. In England we do it ourselves.
“I can’t understand the rationality behind that because England voted for Brexit and now they want to bring a super league. The English has the strongest league. The Super League would destroy, 100 per cent, the Premier League.”
Wenger added that qualification for any international competition should, in his opinion, be accessed via domestic league performance.
“The basic of our sporting culture in Europe is to have access through your performances to top level competition.
“I don’t understand how anybody could believe that capping the link between the domestic league and access to the top league would pass and would be accepted by the fans, by people who love football.”
For Wenger, the whole Super League saga is indicative of poor leadership atop England’s biggest football clubs.
“You worry quite a lot how our top clubs are managed. For me, with a distance, it is really surprising.”
Widely regarded as Arsenal’s greatest manager since Herbert Chapman, Arsene Wenger also said the project failed because it disregarded fans.
“If we learnt one lesson through the pandemic is how important the fans are in our sport. This project ignored completely the fans.”
