BIG DEBATE: The Premier League saw five of its six teams qualify for the Champions League knockouts by finishing in the top eight as their chances of glory are talked up
13:24, 29 Jan 2026Updated 14:00, 29 Jan 2026
Arsenal have finished as top seeds in the Champions League after winning all eight games(Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The Champions League knockout stage is already dominated by English sides with five guaranteed to be there after a hugely successful league phase.
Five Premier League outfits ended in the top eight, dodging the play-off round as they wait to see who they’ll face. Arsenal became the first team ever in the newly revamped tournament to record a perfect eight wins from eight.
Not far behind them were the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool. Tottenham, despite struggling massively on the domestic scene, continued to thrive on the European stage and they beat Frankfurt to secure their spot. Manchester City secured the win they needed, and got some help from Benfica, to leap up to eighth.
It means that the Champions League is looking very England heavy with players and managers citing how the Premier League is indeed showing that it is the best league in the world.
English football has always had its own strengths, like every league, but they appear to be particularly prominent this season with Premier League clubs winning over the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
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It feels like a throwback to the late 2000s, when English teams were truly dominant. From 2007 – 2009, of the 12 semi-finals, nine were from the Premier League, resulting in Manchester United winning an all-England final back in 2008.
The numbers suggest these shores could replicate those kind of achievements as we ask our writers whether they think English teams are heading to the forefront of European football once again.
Andy Dunn
The Premier League might be the dominant force in the knockabout, Mickey Mouse stages of a ludicrously bloated competition, but let’s wait until the end of May before sounding off about how great we are.
The last time I looked, the champions were a French team, and a Premier League side had not been involved in either of the last two finals. In fact, in the last two seasons, the Premier League has provided only ONE of the eight semi-finalists. That is not dominant.
Liverpool are among the highest ranked sides(Image: PAUL ELLIS, AFP via Getty Images)
In the ridiculous 36-team format, Premier League teams will win a lot of games because they will play a lot of those games against teams who are nowhere near as wealthy as they are. Simple as that.
The Premier League’s strength in Europe is not founded on its physical muscle but on its unrivalled financial muscle, which can fund deeper squads which, in turn, helps win qualification games in Europe.
But at the very elite level, there is little to suggest the Premier League’s top teams are indisputably superior to the top teams from the continent. Anyhow, we will see who lifts the trophy in Budapest on May 30. For all their supposed dominance, I would not bank on it being a Premier League captain.
Daniel Orme
Can the Premier League really be considered the best league in the world when not a single English team has reached the final since 2023? Sure, it’s impressive to see five out of the division’s six representatives automatically qualify for the last 16.
And that will go a long way to bolstering their hopes of securing the title this time around. But the proof will be in the pudding later in the competition. If all of the Premier League sides go out in the next round, we probably can’t say that they have dominated.
Tottenham have struggled domestically but look a different side in Europe (Image: Getty Images)
When it comes to this year’s league stage however, yes Premier League sides have impressed more than most and there has got to be a reason. And I genuinely think it is fitness. Premier League sides are regularly busting a gut domestically. They then carry that approach onto the European stage where their opponents aren’t used to that exhaustive work week after week.
Will that still translate later in the competition when energy has been sapped by the relentless scheduling of Premier League sides? I’m not so sure.
Sam Meade
Yes English sides have been dominant up until this point, but I’ve never been sold on the ‘best league in the world’ narrative and I think the Premier League’s lack of Champions League winners does back that up.
Spain have been more dominant on the European stage when it comes to providing winners of the tournament over the past decade for example. Winning games in the league phase is worthy of credit, but I wouldn’t be talking up the Premier League until April or May.
Despite the quality of English teams they have only won three of the past ten finals with the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich claiming the trophy (Image: Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
We saw PSG knock off English teams en route to winning the tournament last year, and there will always be an element of Premier League wealth shining through on the pitch, which it has done over these past few months.
The real tell of the quality of the likes of Arsenal, City, Liverpool and co will be how they handle knockout situations, so no one should be bragging about simply making the last 16 quite yet. PSG peaking late in the season last term showing that the time to peak is not in the winter.
Jeremy Cross
The Premier League is the most competitive and physical in the world. It hardens teams up. Because of the wealth involved, managers of English teams can have better and deeper squads.
It’s why Tottenham can go on and win the Europa League, while almost flirting with relegation back home. It’s why Tottenham can finish fourth in the Champions League table, while sitting 14th in the Premier League.
Six Premier League sides sit inside the top 10 of the Deloitte Football Money League, while 50 per cent of the top 30 come from the English top flight. TV rights have generated enormous broadcast revenues for Premier League sides, with the income from that source dwarfing those of other countries.
The Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are not even close to being as competitive. Europe is like a release for teams like Tottenham and Newcastle, because it pitches them against inferior opposition and is a break from the intensity of domestic football.
Neil McLeman
The Premier League has the most strength in depth of any league in Europe. That was shown last season when Tottenham and Manchester United – two very ordinary sides who finished in the bottom of the table – reached the Europa League final. Now it is the same with English sides dominating the top eight in the Champions League.
It is sheer weight of money – the latest domestic TV deal pays £6.7m and even middle-ranking teams have bigger incomes than all teams except the European giants.
That does not guarantee a Premier League triumph – and Manchester City are the only English winners in the last four years.
Arsenal have achieved a remarkable feat in winning all their games but there is no outstanding English team. And remember PSG won the competition last year after finishing 15th in the table. The French champions, Inter Milan and Real Madrid have still got time to come good this season.
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