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News that the FIFA Congress endorse President Sepp Blatter’s ‘6-plus-5’ ruling and thereby restricting the number of foreign players permitted in any team has sent shockwaves around the world but it will be felt nowhere more than in the Premier League and particularly Arsenal.

What the ruling means is that from 2010 clubs will have to progressively limit the number of foreign players with an insistence that the number of English players be at least four in 2010, then five and finally six by the 2012/13 season.

One of the clubs likely to be most affected by the plans are Arsenal, whose current starting XI features the highest number of overseas players.

Arsene Wenger’s side currently has just one Englishman in its ranks, Theo Walcott, and even then he is not an established first-teamer.

Even though Blatter has convinced FIFA’s Congress to ratify the ruling, Sepp Blatter still has a job in convincing the European Union as any restriction on the freedom and movement of EU nationals is illegal.

However, Blatter is adamant that he can convince the EU and has stated many times that any law can be changed.

So what effect will this have on clubs in London?

Certainly as it stands at present Arsenal will suffer most. At present Theo Walcott is the only player who has remotely had the chance to establish himself in the first team. Even he appeared in 25 leagues matches this season, 14 of those were as a substitute.

Contrast this with Chelsea who in their last match in the Champions League final were able to field a side with four full England internationals who are not only regulars in the national team but are regulars in the Chelsea team.

Tottenham also have a core of English players with Dawson, Woodgate, Jenas, Huddlestone and Robinson regularly appearing last season.

West Ham are a club renowned for their youth set up and the club regularly sees good, young English players coming through the ranks.

Recent figures released by the BBC show that Arsenal are easily bottom of the pile when it comes to fielding English players at an average of 0.34 per game - two players behind the next lowest team.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s has been rightly lauded for his exploits in the transfer market and his ability to spot young talent borders on the legendary. However, if the EU accepts FIFA’s ruling, Wenger will have to alter his transfer strategy.

Moreover, simple economic theory dictates that the demand for English players will soar and with supply already at the highest level limited, the price will inevitably rise.

In the recent past Wenger has refused to pay what he considers a premium for English players when he feels he can get a better quality player from abroad and cheaper. What will he do now and are Arsenal in a financial position to battle with Chelsea and Manchester United for the best English players not just in terms of a transfer fee but also salary?

Wenger’s argument that as a manager a player’s passport should not determine whether he is right for his club is valid but Blatter and FIFA have a different agenda.

It seems that Blatter’s plan, instead of narrowing the competitive gap may actually increase it, in the short term at least. If the best English players end up at the best teams and the rest have to include English players who are up to the standard, this will inhibit competition, not encourage it.

Blatter, though, claims to be seeing the bigger picture and feels that unless this ruling is put into place, the future of international football will be at stake. He may well have a point given that there will be an increased need for clubs to nurture young English talent. At present this is not happening and it is no surprise that the number of English players that England manager Fabio Capello has a choice of picking has shrunk in the last five years.

Ultimately Blatter’s concern is for national teams. The politics of his desire to implement the ruling stem from the eternal battle between international football and club football. Since the inception of the Champions League in Europe, interest in the club game has somewhat superseded the international game both financially and in fans eyes. The Champions League is administered by UEFA, European football’s governing body, and it is no exaggeration to state that the future of the game that is stake.

FIFA believe that the game is the ultimate preserve of the national teams, who represent their country and congregate once every four years at the World Cup. In Europe, the Champions League has become so powerful, so influential and so vital to the financial stability of football at club level that it has displaced in many eyes the importance of international football.

You thought a club versus country row between players and mangers was significant; it seems that FIFA have raised the stakes to a political level that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of football. If you don’t believe it, ask Arsene Wenger.

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