UEFA catches up with England’s finest

THE Champions League group stage has become such a formality for English clubs in the past few years that it comes as shock to realise Arsenal could be the only English club left in the competition by Thursday morning.

Unlikely? Perhaps, but it’s not that long since Italian clubs were dominating the competition. Just three years ago, only one Spanish side survived to reach the quarter-finals.

Spain promptly won the European title so evidently we shouldn’t write off the Premier League just yet. What’s happening is more a reflection of the change in UEFA regulations that now require clubs to include eight homegrown players in their squads.