Arsene Wenger believes there needs to be an overhaul of international football in order to prevent supporters from walking away for good.
Gunners boss believes lack of quality to blame for waning interest
Arsene Wenger believes there needs to be an overhaul of international football in order to prevent disillusioned supporters from walking away for good.
The Arsenal boss feels that the precarious economic climate and a drop in the quality of competition have forced fans away from the game.
He is confident the situation can be resolved, but says action needs to be taken soon if the public are to be brought back on board.
The French tactician told the
Official Arsenal Magazine: "The lack of quality in some games has been wiped out by the national pride of people supporting their countries. But in the longer run, that doesn't work.
"People want quality, and we saw some games in the last round of internationals - Bulgaria v Wales for example - there were just 1,000 people there. That makes a mockery of international football. So we have to look at that quickly, because it creates a new problem.
"I think it will get worse and worse because we are facing an economic crisis too. That will have direct consequences for the attendances. It's more and more difficult to sell out games - even in a big country like France. Not one home game there was a sell-out. Not one.
"That shows you that there's something happening that is a deeper problem."
Challenge
Wenger has never been a big fan of mid-season international breaks and admits he will be keeping his fingers crossed that his key men are returned to him in full working order - with Arsenal having found form of late.
"It is certainly not a joy for me but hopefully it is not a pain because I hope the players will come back in good spirits," he told the Gunners'
official website.
"But it could be a pain if we lose some players through injury.
"I don't believe (it will upset our rhythm). It's always a challenge to get the focus back quickly when players come from international games but let's hope we can sort that out."
