Transfer insider Dean Jones has given a rather damning indictment about the state of Arsenal heading into the summer transfer window.
Mikel Arteta’s men face an incredibly crucial game against Villarreal in the Europa League tonight, as winning the competition presents their only real opportunity of qualifying for any European competition next season given their current place in the league table.
And qualifying for Europe in any format is likely going to have an impact on the sort of players that they can attract according to Jones, who explained on the latest edition of Touchline Talk (24:58) that whilst Arteta’s job would be safe in all of this, there is a lot more uncertainty when it comes to the playing staff for next season:
“So if they don’t [win the Europa League] it leaves them with a big problem going into next season because Arteta’s job is safe, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, I’m told that there’s been no thought of changing him at this point.
“And if he’s still in charge, then fine, if you’re going to stick with this philosophy that he seems to have, then fine, but there’s going to be players leaving the club, and they might even be big-name players like [Alexandre] Lacazette, and they’ve got to replace those players.
“And I’m not sure to be honest, who’s going to be wanting to join Arsenal right now? Because I don’t think you can be sure in the direction of the club. I don’t think you’re going to have Champions League football.
“I don’t even think they’ll have any European football to be honest with you at this rate. And you’re just asking ‘Where’s this club going?’ I don’t know what type of player you’re attracting right now. And I think that that’s a huge problem.”
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TIF Thoughts on Dean Jones’ comments regarding Arsenal and their plans this summer
Jones’ comments really do strike home just how important the game and the tournament is for Arsenal. Because whilst winning it would provide them a huge boost, the effects of missing out could potentially be catastrophic and essentially cause the club to go into a major rebuilding project with Arteta at the helm.
And as Jones mentions with Lacazette, given the financial state the club are in, there may need to be a few more players than just the Frenchman that will have to be jettisoned in order to fund the whole affair.
In other news: Charles Watts reacts to ‘huge boost’ for Arteta and Arsenal