Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that if Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea fail to reach the Champions League knockout stages, it will be a "catastrophic" outcome for English football.
While the Gunners are the only Premier League side to qualify for the final 16 of the elite competition, Wenger's rivals' European hopes hang in the balance.
"It would be a little bit of a disadvantage in the Premier League [for us], but that is a catastrophic scenario for England and would basically harm our places in Europe for the future," said Wenger.
"That is what you don't want - that you go from four to three Champions League places. Hopefully that will not happen. And of course, the teams like Man United would focus completely on the FA Cup and the championship [if they went out] - and Man City as well - but let's see what happens. I don't think that will happen."
Manchester United need a point against FC Basel to progress to the knockout round, while Chelsea need to defeat Valencia at Stamford Bridge, and Man City need a win against Bayern Munich while relying on Napoli to lose to Villarreal.
Danielle Joynson
