Arsene Wenger feels that the current away-goals format in The Uefa Champions League has run its course.
When asked for his opinions on the matter, the Boss believed that the rule, which has seen his side crash out of the competition in three of the last four seasons despite level aggregate scores, should be re-examined as it is “outdated”.
“It should count maybe after extra time because this rule was created in the sixties to encourage teams to attack away from home. Since then football has changed. The weight of the away goal is too big today.”
He went on to suggest that England’s League Cup could provide a good template.
“I think maybe you can count away goals after extra-time like in the League Cup in England.”
Wenger also talked about the title race and how his team want to get closer to Chelsea but admitted that the leaders are safe at the top of the table.
“I believe Chelsea still has a very good cushion and very good security,” Wenger said. ”They still have a game in hand so I believe that they are too far apart at the moment.”
Meanwhile things appear to be on the up for the team in terms of injuries. Wenger confirmed that Tomas Rosicky will be available for the weekend after being ill for a short period of time while Mathieu Debuchy, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere could all be available in two to three weeks.
The Boss did however appear concerned about fatigue after his team took part in two demanding games against West Ham and Monaco in the last week.
“West Ham was a very physical game,” Wenger said. “In the second half of the Monaco game we played some of our players offensively. We paid a little bit for it. It is a concern. We have to see how everyone recovers.”
The game at St James Park kicks off at 3 o’clock on Saturday.
