Arsenal fans, you’re not going to like this.
UEFA floated the idea several months ago, but yesterday they officially announced a big change to the seedings for the Champions League group stages for next year.
Under the new system, pot 1 for the group stage will contain the winners of the top 7 domestic European leagues, with the 8th place being filled by the winners of the competition. Currently, the seven highest placed countries are Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and Russia.
Should the Champions League winner also win their domestic league, then the spot will be awarded to the winner of the next highest European league, which this year is PSV, winners of this season’s Eredivisie.
It’s set to be a major shake up on previous seasons, which has seen pot one dominated by English and Spanish clubs. This season, three of the pot one places went to La Liga sides, with a further two to the Premier League.
Several sides now look like losing out on their top seeds, with Arsenal almost certain to be in pot two for the draw.
Also, unless Real Madrid and Barcelona share the league and Champions League, one of the pair will miss out on a top seed.
With this season’s group stage being such a damp squib, things could be far spicier in six months, with Europe’s elite spread out out across the pools.
Hat-tip 101 great goals
