Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes England still has the strongest league in Europe, despite the travails of Manchester City and Chelsea this season, while adding his side deserve more credit for sealing a place in the last-16 of the Champions League for the 13th season in a row.
While Arsenal are yet to win Europe's premier competition, they are one of the most consistent sides in Europe, despite having a shoestring budget, and it is an achievement that Wenger is extremely proud of.
"It is a massive satisfaction because I am, so many times with my back to the wall, accused of not spending fortunes," Wenger told reporters.
"To show that we can do it, with the way we do it, with the club in a good financial situation and with the players coming from our youth development ... I think it is important for the game as well. There are many different ways to be successful and I am very happy that our way is one of them."
The English Premier League is undoubtedly the most popular league in the world, but with some of the clubs struggling in Europe - last season Manchester United and Manchester City were knocked out after the group stages, while this year City are out while Chelsea are on the brink - there have been question raised on the league's competitiveness.
Wenger said the German Bundesliga and the French League have improved considerably, but insisted the Premier League is still the strongest, owing mainly to the clubs' spending power.
"Maybe we have less room, less margin (for error) than we had before when it was just a question of when we would qualify," Wenger added. "Now German football has come up, Spanish football is there every year and some French clubs have come back like Paris Saint-Germain. It looks less obvious for us.
"I don't think we are getting worse. Man City has gone out but you can objectively say they were in a difficult group and they are still a good side as they are top of the Premier League.
"I'd still say England is the strongest, because in England if they want a player they get him still. As long as that happens you will be the most powerful in Europe.
"England is best, because there's something more here. It's not only linked with what you see on the pitch but how you experience football.
"That's what I believe deeply. And when I speak to the players they say exactly the same."
Arsenal, who face Aston Villa on Saturday, have won their last two games convincingly after a period of matches that saw them struggle to get any kind of positive result, and Wenger is hoping his side have overcome the "blip" and are primed to make a run needed to get back up the Premier League table.
"I hope we are over our blip," Wenger said. "It is only coming with results. We were deeply shocked when we lost at Norwich, although since then, we have seen that they can beat other teams.
"Against Man United, they looked comfortable, they gained confidence. So I hope we will be back to our normal level of confidence. We had a difficult period. I hope now that we can show the consistency that is needed to come back."