Wenger warning for England

Arsene Wenger today warned that mis-matches like England's World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan could leave vast, empty spaces at the new Wembley Stadium.

The ultra-defensive approach of the Azeris led to a near 90-minutes of dominance by England who won 2-0 but had enough chances to at least match the eight goals scored by Poland against the same opponents last weekend.

Such tactics have been adopted by many of international football's lesser lights throughout recent qualifying campaigns for the major tournaments - and Wenger claimed that the English public will soon turn their backs on such non-events as they have started to do in his native France.

"The miracle is that you can sell out this game - that's because the country is involved. You could never do that at club level," said Wenger. "The time will come when people will not attend any more."

Standard Sport revealed earlier this week how the Football Association's business plan for the new £757million Wembley Stadium, which opens next May, does not require it to sell out to make a profit. But the FA will still be anxious that the stadium is packed on international nights.

Wenger added: "I don't blame Azerbaijan. they had no choice but to play the way they did. The system still works here because England go around the country and that gives people the chance to see the team.