24 x 7 World News

Arsenal’s 25-year run in European competition on the line

0

So much for Arsenal being one of the elite soccer clubs in Europe.

Three weeks after being among the instigators of the controversially closed-off and ultimately ill-fated Super League, the English team is facing the ignominy of being shut out of continental competition for the first time in 25 years.

A failure to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Villarreal in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday would end ArsenalтАЩs quarter-century run of participating in either the Champions League or UEFAтАЩs secondary club competitions.

Such a degrading of status would be ironic, considering the planned Super League тАФ devised and then aborted within a chaotic 48-hour period last month тАФ would have positioned Arsenal as one of 12 elite teams in the European game.

The significance of the match against Villarreal, likely to be played against the backdrop of more fan protests against ArsenalтАЩs American ownership for its involvement in the Super League project, isnтАЩt lost on Mikel Arteta.

тАЬIt is a big moment,тАЭ the Arsenal manager said. тАЬNot for me but for the club, for everything that has happened in the last two years, in the last months, and for all the instability that we have been hit with for many different reasons.

тАЬI think it will be really important, and a big step forward, if we are able to be in that final and have the opportunity to win that trophy.тАЭ

ItтАЩs not just ArtetaтАЩs future that could be on the line on Thursday. ArsenalтАЩs ability to attract players for next season, and to retain the services of its own best players, might hinge on winning the Europa League and gaining the bonus prize of qualifying for next seasonтАЩs Champions League.

Otherwise, itтАЩs out of Europe, a situation Arsenal hasnтАЩt been in since the 1995-96 season тАФ a year that fell between the storied managerial eras of George Graham and Arsene Wenger.

For Arteta, that would be unacceptable.

тАЬBut itтАЩs the reality,тАЭ he said. тАЬItтАЩs not what we want, obviously, but there are a lot of things that have happened in that period for many reasons.

тАЬOne is the level has been raised to a standard that is unprecedented in the (Premier League) and we are not the only club that has been out of that. But obviously no one accepts that situation and we want to change it straightaway. This season, we have the opportunity to do that.тАЭ

Arteta delivered the FA Cup to Arsenal in August, at the end of his first season at the club, but his position would be uncertain should his team be eliminated by Villarreal, which тАФ adding to the weight of the occasion тАФ is coached by Unai Emery.

Emery is a Spaniard who replaced Wenger at Arsenal in May 2018, following the FrenchmanтАЩs nearly 22 years in the job. He lasted only 18 months.

Arteta said the success of this season will now be determined by winning the Europa League or not.

тАЬIt will be judged like this,тАЭ he said. тАЬHow good or bad job you are doing is judged by many factors by different people. Externally, itтАЩs only when you win or lose. That is the defining moment.тАЭ

Arteta’s big players need to step up against Villarreal and there’s no one bigger in the team than captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who declared upon signing a three-year deal in September that he wanted to become an тАЬArsenal legend.тАЭ

That hasn’t materialized, because of a mixture of off-field issues тАФ he recently contracted malaria, and also took time off in February when his mother became seriously ill тАФ and poor form, which he partially put down to struggling to get fired up for matches because of the lack of fans in stadiums.

Aubameyang, whose season tally of 15 goals in all competitions is way down on what he typically delivers, said Wednesday he owes Arteta a big performance.

тАЬI have to give something back to the club and the fans who are awaiting something from me,тАЭ the striker said on a video call. тАЬThis is the right moment to show I am capable of doing it.тАЭ

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Leave a Reply