Arsenala s Arsene Wenger has stated that the away goals rule is outdated and should be changed.
After seeing his team crash out of the Champions League on away goals rule once again, Arsene said, a Two teams have gone out on away goals, which I think should be questioned because ita s a rule that is outdated now and has to be changed. Ia ve fought for that for a long time.a
a It should count maybe after extra time because this [current] 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.
a I think maybe you can count [away goals] after extra-time like in the League Cup in England.a
However, Arsene wasna t too concerned with the fact that there wona t be any English teams in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions Leauge.
a I dona t think that you can draw a general conclusion,a Arsene said. a In a direct knockout, ita s important that youa re very efficient and a bit lucky as well.
a None of the teams, apart from Barcelona, look to be superior in Europe today. Two other teams, Chelsea and Arsenal, could have gone through. I dona t think therea s a lot wrong, we now just have to focus on our next targets.
a We are a better team today than four months ago. There is a fantastic spirit in the team, there is great quality as well, and [we need to] rectify what we havena t done well in the first leg [against Monaco] and continue to improve.
a We have won 13 of our last 15 games and that’s down to consistency, quality and improvement.a
With the relatively easier tie of Monaco this year, Arsenal fans would have hoped that the team would be able to finally move to the quarterfinals this year, but a poor first leg performance made sure that it was a difficult task. While they played their hearts out at Monaco, it was not enough as they fell short by one away goal and had to come back home.
Arsenal will now be able to fully concentrate on their FA Cup defence and also can engage full throttle in their hopes of pipping Manchester City and finishing second in the league table. While their recent form has been excellent, it will be interesting to see how they go about the business end of the season.