Aston Villa could miss out on UEFA Champions League football next season, even if they manage to finish fourth in the Premier League, admits boss Martin O'Neill. Should Arsenal be successful in the Champions League yet still finish outside the top four, the North London side would be guaranteed a place in the competition at Villa's expense.

Of the scenario, O'Neill said in the Daily Telegraph: "My own view, and I might be speaking against myself, is that if you won the Champions League, I believe you have the right to go and defend it the next year.

"Arsenal are capable of winning the competition, the way they are going to get their players back in the next week or so. If it was a clear, definitive rule at the start of the season then I'll abide by it."