Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claims Barcelona have 'dropped off' and the Premier League will fight back

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, believes English football is on the cusp of a resurgence in the

Champions League despite his side crashing out of the competition in the round of 16 for the sixth year running.
Manchester City are the only Premier League team left in the Champions League while just Liverpool remain in the Europa League, with German and Spanish clubs currently dominating both competitions.
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But, although his Arsenal side were crushed 5-1 on aggregate by a Barcelona side he described as one of the best he has ever faced, Wenger thinks the Catalan club have ‘already dropped off’.
In fact, the Frenchman says the increased television revenue will be enough to restore English football to the superior force in Europe.

Barca were far too good for Arsenal in the Champions League

When asked how the Premier League can possibly bridge the gap to the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, 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 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.

Arsenal fought gamely at the Nou Camp but were outclassed

“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.”
Wenger says a lack of competition domestically enables the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to flourish in Europe while English clubs face fierce title challenges back home.
Barca are currently eight points clear in La Liga while the top two in Germany, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, are 16 points ahead of third-place Hertha Berlin. PSG, meanwhile, have already won the Ligue 1 title after establishing a 25-point cushion over Monaco.

It's been a tough few weeks for Arsene Wenger

Wenger added: “They can walk through the games before they play against us. Barcelona played on Saturday, with a team who after 20 minutes were 3-0 down. They have problems to sell out in Barcelona because there is no championship anymore. They can select how much they go for it. In the Premier League you cannot.”
It means Arsenal, 11 points adrift of leaders Leicester, must follow up the midweek visit to Barcelona with a trip to Everton in Saturday's early television kick-off. However, Wenger refused to blame the broadcast schedule for his side’s struggle to end a promising season with any silverware.

Next up for Arsenal it's Everton and Romelu Lukaku

"I wouldn't say it's the fault of TV if we go out, I don't believe that at all,” he said.
"Does the schedule in England help or not? Overall no. But it's not an excuse because we dealt with it before, we had English teams playing in the final of the Champions League before with the same schedule.
"The TV do not pay all that money and then say: 'Oh, finally, we pay you and don't want an audience.' It's not an excuse, we have squads of 20 or 25 and it should be enough. I could change six or seven players between Watford and Barcelona. It's not too bad.”