Thursday, or out?

[This Is The Daybreak]

Wish it was just the champions of the domestic leagues in the Champions League, 2nd and 3rd place in the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup/Domestic Cup winners in the Cup Winners Cup.

Straight two leg knock outs for the UEFA and Cup Winners Cup and a less bloated version of the Champions League in its current state. No seeded teams, if it's Real Madrid in the first knock out phase then so be it. Also scrap the League Cup and make it a regional competition with more derbies and more chance of smaller teams getting big pay days. So simple but I feel would work perfectly fine.

Going back to the question I would like to just see what it's like. Will be a novelty if nothing else and beats playing Olympiakos for the 1,000th time.

[DB10GOONER]

Wish it was just the champions of the domestic leagues in the Champions League, 2nd and 3rd place in the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup/Domestic Cup winners in the Cup Winners Cup.

Straight two leg knock outs for the UEFA and Cup Winners Cup and a less bloated version of the Champions League in its current state. No seeded teams, if it's Real Madrid in the first knock out phase then so be it. Also scrap the League Cup and make it a regional competition with more derbies and more chance of smaller teams getting big pay days. So simple but I feel would work perfectly fine.

Going back to the question I would like to just see what it's like. Will be a novelty if nothing else and beats playing Olympiakos for the 1,000th time.

^ This.

That glorious night in Copenhagen. Smudge's volley. Backs to the wall defending. Back before the CL devalued and ruined European football.

[Theoperator]

The thought of Visiting stinkholes in Romania or Bulgaria and eating deveilled rats washed down with the local firewater on a Thursday night fills me with a deep deep Joy !

Similar to a NLD then no doubt

[markyp]

im happy for us to just play in the Singapore cup,thats as much foreign action as we are able to cope with

[northbank123]

Gotta say I think that people are blinded by nostalgia with the crowing for a 'winners only' competition.

Whilst the CL is a cash cow and I'm as tired as anyone of the 4th placed perpetuity, would it really be great for Barcelona to beat Rosenborg 12-0 on aggregate in the quarters whilst Bayern beat Dynamo Kiev 9-1 in another?

European football has moved on a lot in the last few decades and there is so much more now between the top sides and the rest. Boring competition but at least you have 6 or 7 sides capable of winning the competition rather than 3 or 4 (being generous).

4 is too many but winners only would be even worse.

[TeeCee]

I want us out of all european competitions. Europa cup just puts another 10m or so in the bank, I want us to be hit HARD in the pocket, it's the only way Kranky is going to get pissed off with Wonga.

Of all the frustrating years following Arsenal (yes even the eighties), I don't know if I've been more frustrated than now. Klopp is waiting for a club and we have the only dinosaur left in the world managing ours.

[SteveO 35]

I want us out of all european competitions. Europa cup just puts another 10m or so in the bank, I want us to be hit HARD in the pocket, it's the only way Kranky is going to get pissed off with Wonga.

Of all the frustrating years following Arsenal (yes even the eighties), I don't know if I've been more frustrated than now. Klopp is waiting for a club and we have the only dinosaur left in the world managing ours.

I remember that Rangers lost money on the Europa League until they reached the final a few years back - the prize money and TV money is shocking, and games are played out in front of half empty stadia. I think its exactly what we need - the REAL supporters who don't live in the Be All and End All world of the CL will come out and watch us play, the club won't make a penny from it, and "Brand Arsenal" will have to suffer a whole load of empty seats and half sold corporate packages for Thursday night games. I can't see Rupert and Tarquin wanting to entertain clients from the bank when we're playing Lech Poznan

[northbank123]

You will also get some pretty irked ST holders whose cup credits are pissed away on watching us play Civil War FC in the first knockout round.

Mayve this regularly promised fan revolt would take place

[Clash]

Voted to be in it. More out of interest to see what Wenger does in it than any hope we might actually win the thing.

He will hate the thing (but obviously hail it as a great cup if got some success in it ) and that might even be a threat to us getting back in the CL. I think it has helped Arsenal in recent seasons that the teams closest to threatening our precious top 4 spot (Everton, Spurs etc.) were stuck with the Thursday / Sunday routine.

Curious as to what is meant by ''concentrating on the league'' means here. A title challenge? Or merely getting back in the CL?

I Klopp is waiting for a club and we have the only dinosaur left in the world managing ours.

I'd love to see Klopp given a chance at Arsenal but if he comes to England I bet he goes to Liverpool. Or even Chelsea they way things are going there.

We'll just stick with reliable old Arsene

[g88ner]

I'd like us to take the UEFA Cup seriously.

We've not won a European competition since 1994!!! 22 years is too long for a club of our stature not to win in europe and after 19 failed attempts at the CL (and an embarrassingly poor record in recent seasons) I'd suggest we have a crack at the UEFA Cup instead.

We'll be back in the CL next season anyway I'd imagine so the UEFA Cup would be a nice change (I think we could still qualify from our CL group yet though....)

[QuartzGooner]

Out, and concentrate on League and a domestic cup.

To what end ? Are you expecting a title challenge ? Surely the monotony of the 4th place charge has to worn you down by now ? We gain nothing by "concentrating" on the league

I do not like the Europa League.
I regard it as a competition for mid-table sides.

I would take more enjoyment from winning the FA or League Cups.

I regard it as more important to finish in the top four of the Premier League than winning the Europa League.

It was different when we had the European Cup, Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup, because at least then the UEFA Cup was for top sides who were not champions, rather than what the Europa League is.

[Midz]

It's all well and good saying that if we were out of the CL we could concentrate on the league, but we're not strong enough to win that either.
What we should concentrate on is strengthening our team so that we can compete at all levels with the top teams.

[casgooner]

I always think of the Europa as a losers cup. Not quite good enough in your own league and then when you've toiled and gritted it out to get to a certain stage, the losers from the CL come in.

Its a joke to me that you can finish third in the CL group, not what a team would want, then maybe win a trophy. Teams who came 1st or second go out in the first knock out stage and get nothing not even a chance at a trophy. Its just ridiculous to me, leave Europa to the teams that qualified for it.

[casgooner]

It's all well and good saying that if we were out of the CL we could concentrate on the league, but we're not strong enough to win that either.
What we should concentrate on is strengthening our team so that we can compete at all levels with the top teams.

We should, and we all hoped we would, but we didn't. We all know there aren't any quality players around in January, and very few in a major championship year...

[Henry Norris 1913]

any success in europe at any level would be a nice change

would love a europa league in our trophy cabinet, as it is long overdue, we've lost our last two euro finals, and both could easily have been won on another day.

that being said, if we did drop into the EL, I wouldn't be surprised if dortmund, napoli or sevilla knocked us out