Arsenal

Unai Emery instructed to deliver Champions League return

By Sean Wilson | 11 October 2019

Arsenal boss Unai Emery is expected to deliver Champions League qualification this season by the Gunners hierarchy, having spent £152m on players this summer.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been informed that he is expected to bring Champions League football back to the Emirates for next season.

The former Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Valencia boss failed to deliver last term, finishing fifth in the Premier League and losing in the final of the Europa League.

This summer, the Gunners have splashed out £152m on new players, and Emery will not be afforded another chance if he is unsuccessful again this season, according to the Daily Mail.

Head of Football Raul Sanllehi said at a fans' forum: "We said to Unai that we just missed out on qualifying for the Champions League last year, but this year with a stronger squad, we expect you to [qualify]."

Sanllehi has been instrumental in the acquisition of top talent in the transfer window, with Arsenal spending £72m on Nicolas Pepe, while also adding the likes of Kieran Tierney and Brazilian starlet Gabriel Martinelli, among others.

The Gunners sit third in the table and have made a fine start to their Europa League campaign, but anything less than qualification for Europe's premier club competition at the end of the season will be seen as a disappointment.