Wenger has overseas doubt
11 Feb 2008 - 16:10:02
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has given a cautious welcome to plans by the Premier League to play an extra round of games each season overseas.
Wenger believes that trying to spread the appeal of English football worldwide is a good one, but thinks that the current proposals focus too much on the financial side of the plan.
He told his club's official website: "By principle, I am not against innovation and I like that somebody is thinking 'how can we promote the League and promote English football?'.
"But you have to respect basic criteria, the competitiveness of our league, the fairness of our league and make sure that it is a promotion for our football.
"If it's just to make £5million or £6million more then it's not worth doing. We have to check that it is really to give something competitive to the rest of the world, not just a chance to make a few more millions.
"That will go into wages straight away and it will all be equal again. It's not worth doing it only for money.
"What you can say at the moment is that ten per cent of our fans have access to our competitive games and 90 per cent have no access at all to competitive games.
"Do you want to give them something? I can agree with that idea. But is this the best way to do it? That has to be checked because I am not completely sure."