London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the Premier League has fallen behind the rest of Europe`s domestic leagues, with the Champions League quarter-finals containing no English clubs for the first time since 1996.
The Gunners became the last British club to be eliminated in the last 16 after Manchester United and Celtic were beaten by Real Madrid and Juventus respectively with Chelsea and Manchester City having already been dumped out in the group stages.
The Frenchman`s side were beaten by last season`s finalists Bayern Munich on away goals, in spite of a brave performance in the Allianz Arena which saw them level the tie at 3-3, having trailed 3-1 from the first leg.
"It is a big wake-up call," Wenger said.
"It means that the rest of European football has caught back on us and means we need to consider in the Premier League what we have to do to improve."
Turkish club Galatasaray and Spanish side Malaga are two surprise sides in the last eight after Cim Bom shocked German club Schalke and Manuel Pellegrini`s side saw off 2004 winners Porto.
Goal.com
First Published: Thursday, March 14, 2013, 08:02