Arsene Wenger has moved to insist that UEFA’s ruling regarding players being ineligible for certain competitions to be scrapped, with Pierre-Emerick’s exclusion from Arsenal’s Europa League squad clearly irking the manager.
The Gunners are set to take on Ostersund in Sweden on Thursday night, but will have to do so without both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The French striker has been ruled out through injury for the next four to five weeks, but the latter is fully fit, and simply cannot play because he has played in Europe for Dortmund already this term.
Arsene Wenger has now come out in the press to slam the rule, claiming that every other club would also agree that it needs to be scrapped.
“Unanimously, I believe that all the clubs agree now this rule has to disappear in Europe” he said.
“When you look at the transfer amounts you spend now, that you have to spend £50m, £60m, £70m in the middle of the season, that the players cannot play doesn’t make sense.
“Unanimously, everywhere in Europe now, the clubs are against this rule.”
I don’t personally understand how Wenger can be annoyed by the ruling when he would have known fully well of the situation when the club was making their moves in the market, and I don’t expect the 68 year-old would have made such a complaint if he hadn’t lost Lacazette to injury.
Would Wenger have complained about the rule if he hadn’t lost Lacazette to injury? Should clubs not have spoken out about the ruling whilst it wasn’t directly affecting them?
Pat J