UEFA to make Champions League rule change next season after Arsenal complaints

UEFA are poised to make a slight adjustment to the rules next season, just one year after implementing an entirely new format. The Champions League concluded in Munich on Saturday night with Paris Saint-Germain deservedly securing their first trophy in the competition by trouncing Inter Milan 5-0. The match marked the end of the inaugural season of the new league table format, which seemed to be a triumph for UEFA.

Despite the final being one-sided, the European football organisers successfully auditioned the expanded 36-team format this year with numerous dramatic matches. However, it appears they are not completely satisfied with their creation, where 36 teams battle in a league table phase to determine who progresses to the knockouts.

Under the current format, a team's position in the league phase dictates their seeding for the play-off round. This means the top eight teams receive a bye to the round of 16, where they face a play-off winner and have the advantage of playing at home in the second leg.

Nonetheless, home advantage is determined by random draw after the round of 16 due to UEFA's preference for an 'open draw', so teams who performed better in the group stage could find themselves obliged to play the home leg first at the quarter-final or semi-final stage.

Arsenal, despite their impressive performance in the league phase, finishing third ahead of Real Madrid and PSG, were dealt a blow with away draws for both the quarter-final and semi-final second legs.

Despite trouncing Real 5-1 on aggregate, Mikel Arteta's side reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction over the situation, feeling that their consistent performance in the league phase was not rewarded in the knockouts.

However, their grievances have not been ignored, as German newspaper reports that UEFA is almost certain to alter the way they draw the knockout ties. The UEFA Club Competitions Committee met on Friday and reportedly agreed on the proposed change before the Champions League final - and final approval is now 'considered a formality.

Other potential changes were also discussed, such as proceeding directly to penalty shoot-outs instead of extra time and preventing two clubs from the same nation from facing off until the competition's later stages. However, no consensus was reached on these ideas.

Arsenal weren't the only club to be disadvantaged by the 'open' draw system: Barcelona had to play at home for the first leg of their quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, despite finishing second in the league phase.

Despite being ousted by PSG in the semi-finals, Arteta dismissed the notion that the French team outclassed Arsenal, arguing: "100 per cent I don't think there's been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out," and added, "This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and theirs was the best in both games."