Arsene Wenger believes reigning European holders Barcelona are more beatable than ever, and regrets the fact his Arsenal side were unable to knock the Spanish giants out of the Champions League this week, UK Standard reports.
The Gunners were eliminated from Europe’s elite competition by Luis Enrique’s side on Wednesday after losing 3-1 in their last-16 second-leg clash at the Camp Nou, and 5-1 on aggregate.
Since the departure of Pep Guardiola – the coach who led Barcelona to 14 major trophies, including two Champions League crowns – from the Catalan giants in 2012, the La Liga side have gone on to win eight titles.
However, Wenger believes the successes of the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich can be achieved by English teams, and admits he harbours regrets that his Arsenal side were unable to give Enrique’s men more of a fight when they met this week.
When asked how England’s top-flight can succeed in European competitions, Wenger said: “By getting the players here. Football belongs first to the quality of the players.
“I believe that with more income in England the best players will slowly all come to England and that will be the answer.
“They [teams from other countries] have already dropped off. For years in England we were always in the last [stages], sometimes you played an English team in the quarter-final and the semi-final of the Champions League. I believe we’ll come back again.
“These teams [like Barcelona and Bayern Munich] are not uncatchable, and the regret I have about the two games against Barcelona maybe they were more beatable than ever before.
“They are not so much out of reach.”
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