Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists they do not need to win the Champions League to be considered an elite club.

While Joe Cole says being Europe's No1 would lift Chelsea into the top bracket, Wenger insists Arsenal are already there.

"You want to win the Champions League," Wenger told arsenal.com. "You are not in the Champions League not to win it.

"Chelsea are a little bit like Arsenal; they are flirting with the cup, they have not grabbed it yet.

"I consider ourselves as an elite club because we are in the top eight seeds of Europe and we are with only two clubs who have achieved 12 consecutive times to play in the Champions League."

The manager added that after recent near-misses in the competition, he believes Arsenal's time will come.

"We have been in the final, we have been in the semi-final and at some stage I think being here every year we will win it," he said.