I hate to put a pin in the balloon, but it sure looks like Arsenal will be playing their European matches next season on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Yes, there is still a little life breathing in our Champions League hopes, however, those hopes are few and far between. It will take a miraculous turn of events on Championship Sunday to see the Gunners through.
With that said, let’s assume Arsenal is in the Europa League next season. How could that impact their summer transfer plans, and beyond?
Well, for starters, I think Arsenal has lost any chance to sign Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus or Paulo Dybala. Even Youri Tielemans could become a question mark, since all of these players want to play on the big stage, not the second tier of European football. Edu and Mikel Arteta may have to review their list of hopefuls, and probably go to Plan B.
On the other hand, this might also help the Gunners in their efforts to re-sign Eddie Nketiah, since finding quality strikers will become more difficult. Maybe Eddie will see an opportunity to play more in north London next season.
We also need to look down the road. The Express is already suggesting Arsenal will lose Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka either this summer or in the near future. You know the big clubs will come sniffing around these young players hoping to lure them away with bigger opportunities for exposure and a higher level of European competition.
There’s also the money the club misses out on by qualifying for the Europa League instead of the Champions League. In the Champions League group stage competition alone clubs earn $19.5-million (USD), as compared to $4.5-million (USD) earned for playing int he Europa League group stage. That’s quite a contrast.
Obviously, the Arsenal players were not ready to take the big step to the Champions League this season. To get so close is a major accomplishment, however, to lose out to Tottenham Hotspur is the real kicker. Any one but Spurs.
It will be an interesting summer to watch unfold as the Arsenal brass will look to make the necessary changes to improve the squad for next season. Will Mr. Kroenke provide the necessary funding, and even if he does, will the right players be willing to come to Arsenal? Those are the big questions.
Gunner1953
The 2024/2025 Premier League schedule will officially be released on June 18th at 9 am BT.
Don’t be so naive spurs result is only 3 points,this season was lost to inconsistency due to youth and size of squad.Jesus is coming to Arsenal because he needs game time for the World Cup.Champions league is not the be all of football.
History has proved conclusively that where Arsenal finish in the league (and CL qualification) is in no way correlated to how much transfer funds Kroenke releases.
In fact Kroenke has spent more money in seasons where Arsenal haven’t finished top 4.
Onto ‘Arsenal won’t be able to sign big name players’. Let’s amend that to ‘Arsenal won’t be able to buy ‘the type of player’ that will create disharmony in the squad if they don’t get regular silverware