Why are Premier League clubs failing in Europe?

Wider range of qualifiers

The period where English sides enjoyed the most success, between 2004 and 2009, was arguably the peak of the ‘Big Four’ era.

Having teams consistently reach the knockout stages builds a wealth of experience and knowledge of exactly what is required to succeed in this competition. Arsenal seem, for an unknown reason, unable to progress further than the last-16, whilst teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, who dip in and out of the competition, inevitably struggle from a lack of experience.

With Arsenal seemingly facing a difficult task to qualify for next season’s competition, yet more Champions League experience could be at risk.

We are facing the possibility of Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool making up three of our four Champions League teams. Spurs notoriously struggle in the competition, as do Liverpool in recent years, whilst Manchester City are very unpredictable.

It remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola can implement the same tactics that saw him be so successful at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.