Wenger wants friendlies scrapped

West Ham v Arsenal

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants international friendlies to be scrapped and for changes to the format of the World Cup and European Championships.

He wants midweek internationals to be played on Tuesdays rather than Wednesdays to give players more time to recover for club matches.

Wenger said: "We must get rid of friendlies and reorganise all the international competitions.

"You get a player back on a stretcher 24 hours before a must-win match."

Everyone wants to block their ears but that cannot go on forever Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

He added: "It's impossible for a player to come back in good form and prepare properly when he has played for his country on a Wednesday evening in Turkey.

"You'd have to be a magician rather than a coach to get them back to their normal selves by Saturday."

The Gunners boss wants football associations to be held accountable for injuries incurred on international duty, a principle backed by the G14 group of elite European clubs, including Arsenal.

Wenger said: "Everyone wants to block their ears but that cannot go on forever.

"Take the average salary of an African player in the Premiership and compare it with the standard of living in his own country and you can well understand why it's difficult for a club or a player to be compensated by an African federation over cases of injury.

"Fifa must take the lead and make the national federations subscribe to a worldwide insurance system."