Uefa consider rule change which would help Arsenal amid Champions League exit | OneFootball

The Gunners would have been handed a kinder draw under proposed new rules

Rotten luck: Mikel Arteta

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal had never before overturned a first-leg home loss in Europe, and their record extended to six failures on Wednesday night despite a strong start in Paris.

Mikel Arteta claimed afterwards that not only did Arsenal deserve to be finalists, they were also the best team across the whole competition.

While that verdict is up for debate, Arsenal could perhaps feel aggrieved at having to play the second leg away from home, which is considered a significant disadvantage.

The current Champions League format means that, despite Arsenal being seeded for the knockout stages, UEFA's preference for an 'open draw' means the fixture schedule is not weighted in either direction.

Arsenal finished third in the league phase, ahead of Real Madrid in 11th and PSG in 15th, but were handed away draws for both the quarter-final and semi-final second legs.

Possible revised rules, report the i, would see a seeded team guaranteed a second-leg tie at home. Should they be drawn against another seeded team - which Madrid and PSG were not - then the team that finished higher in the league phase would play at home in the second leg.

Arsenal beat Madrid home and away before losing to PSG in both legs, so it remains unclear if the Gunners would have gained much, if any, advantage to playing the tie decider in front of their own fans.

But Arteta could be left considering what might have been after finishing a fifth consecutive season without a trophy.