Arsenal's Champions League qualifying campaign a ‘relic of the past'

Arsenal’s head coach has criticized the UEFA Champions League qualification phase, calling it outdated. The concern arises from fixture scheduling conflicts with the Women’s Super League. Arsenal won their second qualifying round against Rosenborg, after defeating Rangers earlier. However, the turnaround time between matches is too short, with a WSL match against Manchester City sandwiched in between. The coach expressed relief that English teams won’t have to participate in such mini-tournaments in the future. The format will change next season with an 18-team league phase. Arsenal’s early involvement in the competition affected player selection and recovery time. The coach argued for more consideration of player recovery time, but acknowledged the influence of broadcasting revenue on scheduling decisions. UEFA and the WSL have not commented on the matter.