Why did Matthew Arnold think English criticism lagged behind French and German criticism?

Matthew Arnold argued that English criticism lagged behind that of France and Germany because it remained trapped in a state of "provinciality and complacency." He believed this was caused by England's remoteness from a central authority of correct knowledge and taste, which prevented English thinkers from engaging with the broader European intellectual tradition.1

Arnold contended that for criticism to be effective, it must be a "disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world." He felt that English writers, including the great Romantic poets, suffered from a lack of this spirit. To overcome this, he insisted that the English critic must look beyond their own national borders, study foreign literatures, and remain in touch with European standards to avoid the "note of provinciality" that characterized much of the English literature of his time.1