MAJOR LEAGUE SAYS BOURNEMOUTH KEEPER ASMIR BEGOVIC
English top flight is definitely still... Top clubs here and in Europe don’t need to create breakaway Champs Lge is set up perfectly and everybody loves it as it is Testing ourselves against best in Prem is a massive challenge
ASMIR BEGOVIC has expressed concern at the English elite’s potential plot to form a European Super League.
Today, the Bournemouth goalkeeper lines up against Arsenal – one of five Premier League clubs who were involved in secret talks with foreign counterparts about an exclusive breakaway league.
Baffled and bemused would best sum up Begovic’s reaction to the highly contentious subject.
Why Arsenal, the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool would even consider walking away from the booming Premier League at the moment is completely and utterly beyond him.
As he is at pains to stress, the current state of the game – both on our loaded shores and abroad in mainland Europe – appears in rude health.
And Begovic’s message to those pushing for a VIP Euro League is simple: IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina stopper said: “I’m not sure what their aim is because the top clubs in Europe and all of the leagues are doing well at the moment.
“They are set up well for the big clubs to play in the Champions League. That’s a very, very popular competition. We all love watching the Champions League.
“So I’d say things look pretty good right now. I don’t see why you’d want to change anything.”
If anyone needs reminding of the beauty of the Premier League then Bournemouth versus Arsenal in front of a packed house on the south coast this afternoon should do the trick in an instant.
Never have the Gunners played outside the English top tier. They positively drip establishment.
Eddie Howe’s men, on the other hand, are mixing it at this level for only their fourth season.
Indeed, just 10 years ago the Dorset minnows were sitting 91st out of 92 in the Football League pyramid – and were bankrupt to boot.
Yet the Cherries are already halfway to the ‘magic’ 40-point mark and just four points behind Unai Emery’s men – who last tasted defeat 17 games ago.
Talk about a wonderful, rags-to-riches tale.
Talk about overcoming the greatest odds imaginable. Which makes the idea that today’s clash at the Vitality Stadium could be consigned to history – amid an exodus by our fat-cat elite to a league without promotion or relegation – a pretty depressing one.
Certainly, Begovic, 31, believes the dream of reaching the Promised Land is the very essence of the much-admired English pyramid system.
The former Stoke and Chelsea man added: “We don’t want to stop that ambition. Absolutely not.
“English football gives everyone so many opportunities to work towards and to really go for. The Premier League is the best league in the world.
“And our game against Arsenal shows why.
“These are the games everyone loves. When you play against the bigger clubs – some of the biggest clubs in the world – the attention is huge.
“It’s a big challenge, one you’re always excited about. As a club, as a player, you want the chance to test yourselves against the very best.”
It’s hard to think of a better way for Howe’s high flyers to champion the right of the less well-off to compete with the top brass than to take down Arsenal at home – for a second successive season.
Callum Wilson and Jordon Ibe netted the last time the Gunners travelled to Bournemouth – the first in what was to become a run of seven consecutive away Premier League defeats last season, hastening the end of Arsene Wenger’s time in charge.
But grabbing a first top-six scalp of this campaign will be some feat for Begovic & Co as only Man City and Chelsea have beaten the north Londoners in all competitions to date this term.
Yet while the visitors boast a lethal attacking force, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, Begovic claims the Cherries forward line is equally tasty.
Wilson, fresh from his England debut, has six league goals, and his blossoming partnership with rising Welsh playmaker David Brooks has been a prominent feature of Howe’s typically free-flowing side.
Begovic said: “It would be great to beat one of the big six – and get winning again after two tight losses. Arsenal have world-class players. But we have very good, strong players, particularly in attack. Our philosophy is always to be positive.”
Before the end of the year, Carabao Cup quarter-finalists Bournemouth also face league games against Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man United.
Little wonder, then, that Begovic is playing down any talk of a top-six finish and European qualification.
“It’s essential to stay grounded and humble,” he added. “Yes, we’re very ambitious but first and foremost we must stay in this league. Once we get that magical points total we will push on.” Bournemouth v Arsenal, Today, 1.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event