Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
has complained that there needs to be a change in the international
fixture list to ease the gruelling schedule for elite teams
battling for domestic and European honours.
The Gunners kick off their UEFA Champions League group campaign
away to Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday night after overpowering Dutch
outfit FC Twente in a qualifying tie.
Arsenal's first leg qualifier was held before the first game of
the Premier League season, with the domestic action now having only
just resumed after the international break.
Wenger said: "There is not much you can say, but the Premier
League does not do a lot for us. The qualifiers are in a very bad
position.
"Then the international friendly comes at a bad time for a team
which plays in the qualifiers for the Champions League.
"But the main reproach I make - and I have asked this for a
long, long time - is that the second [international] game is on the
Tuesday.
"For example, Carlos Vela played on Wednesday night - but he did
not finish until 4am on Thursday morning, because that was 9pm in
Mexico.
"It means it is impossible to get that sort of player back for
the next league game.
"You end up paying the players to go to the national team for
two games and then you can't use them.
"You have a two-week break, but you can't even use them when
they return."