Four days after their summit meeting in the Barclays Premier League, Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are on collision course again over the number of overseas players who should be eligible to play in their teams.

Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is backing Fifa proposals for a maximum of five foreigners in a starting lineup, saying that it would be good for the game in England, but his Arsenal counterpart believes that supporters would not accept being deprived of the chance to watch the world’s best players in action.

Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, is hoping for European Union support in his attempt to reduce the number of overseas players in domestic leagues. He wants six players in each starting XI to be eligible for the national team of the country where the league is based and is optimistic that the EU Reform Treaty, to be signed next month, will allow the football authorities to apply restrictions without falling foul of laws that allow freedom of employment to EU citizens.

“The European Union does not cover this issue in its constitution at the moment, but sport will be mentioned for the first time when they change their laws in December,” Blatter said. “There are a number of processes coming together to stop the overwhelming presence of nonnational players in club leagues.”

Although the treaty allows for negotiation on reform of laws on competition and discrimination based on nationality, it will not come into force until 2009, depending on ratification by all 27 EU nations. However, although Blatter can count on Ferguson’s support, he may find it more difficult to achieve an accord with Arsenal.

“For the good of the game in England, it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs,” Ferguson said. “There would be opposition from clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal, but I think if you asked a neutral, they would rather see more home-based players.”

Wenger, who has at times fielded an Arsenal team without an England-qualified player, disagrees. “It is not very nice to his [Ferguson’s] own foreign players, first of all,” he said. “I would not be very happy if I was a foreign player at Man United.

“They have invested a lot of money in foreign players. I always felt that sport rewards quality and does not hide behind artificial rules. If you put the level of the class down, it does not necessarily make the bad students better, it makes them worse. To compete with the best players in the world is a chance to improve your level.

“If you organise a golf tournament, people go to watch Tiger Woods, whether that is in Scotland or anywhere else. When you go to Wimbledon, you want to see [Roger] Federer. That is what people demand today. The world has moved. People demand to see the best in the world and you cannot get them to watch a level down any more.”

“The real question is how can England take the opportunity to produce world-class players? At the moment, we have Arsenal-class England players in [Theo] Walcott and [Justin] Hoyte. Under that level, we have a few. But it is very difficult to say they are world class because there is still a lot to prove.”

Blatter also praised the effects of the Taylor report, which insisted on all-seat stadiums after the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy. The results, he suggested, would aid the FA’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

“If you look at the organisation of football in England . . . it has all come out of the [Hillsborough] disaster,” Blatter said. “It was a decision of the Government and they had to renovate the stadiums or build new stadiums. Now you don’t need to touch them and they have another 10 or 11 years to go before the tournament.”

However, he gave warning that rival bidders can match England’s stadium infrastructure. “Don’t forget they will have the same facilities in China, which we saw at the women’s World Cup,” he said. “And there is also Australia and Japan and other countries. The race has not yet been officially opened, but it will be a great race.”

Bred for success

How the big four may look if Sepp Blatter had his way

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar – G Neville, R Ferdinand, W Brown, P Evra – C Ronaldo, P Scholes, O Hargreaves, M Carrick – W Rooney, L Saha. Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech, – P Ferreira, J Terry, R Carvalho, W Bridge – F Lampard, M Essien, A Cole – S Wright-Phillips, D Drogba, J Cole.

Liverpool (4-4-2): J M Reina – S Finnan, J Carragher, J Hobbs, S Darby – J Pennant, S Gerrard, J Mascherano, H Kewell – P Crouch, F Torres. Arsenal (4-4-2): M Almunia – J Hoyte, G Hoyte, W Gallas, K Gibbs – T Walcott, H Lansbury, F Fàbregas, J Dunne – R van Persie, E Adebayor.