Arsene Wenger is surprised at Uefa's decision to shake up the Champions League seedings for next season - because he thinks the current system works perfectly well.
From 2015/16, the champions from Uefa's seven top-ranked countries will be placed in pot one alongside the holders. That's a significant shift from the current format, in which seedings are based on clubs' Uefa coefficients, a measurement of their performances in European competition.
"It's not needed, because it's a competition that works the best in the world and is the most admired"
Arsenal are regulars in pot one but will drop out if they qualify for next season's Champions League without winning the trophy or the Premier League.
"I think yes [it is a surprise], because the logic is not respected," said Wenger. "Logic for me is when you play in Europe, [you should be judged on] the results in Europe.
"I'm not really fighting it. Why? Because it will just make the seeding less interesting, because group one will have less significance. Will Maribor be in group one because they won the league, or in group two because they are in one of the second-best countries? After that, there's no hierarchy anymore in the groups.
"It's not needed, because it's a competition that works the best in the world and is the most admired and one that everybody wants to watch. For me, I was quite surprised that they did that, but we'll see how it works. I think it will just make the seedings useless."
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