Arsenal face starting season on July 26 if they slip to seventh
Arsenal’s slide down the Premier League has left them facing the prospect of a nightmare pre-season that would involve managing Europa League qualifiers and expected matches in Singapore just 11 days after the World Cup final.
Uefa has confirmed that a Europa League space for English teams will go to the club that finishes seventh in the Premier League, provided that Southampton do not unexpectedly win the FA Cup.
The extra place follows Manchester City also winning the League Cup but, with Burnley now only two points behind Arsène Wenger’s team following Sunday’s fifth consecutive away defeat in the league – this time at Newcastle – Arsenal finishing seventh has become a very real possibility.
That would mean entering the Europa League at the second qualifying round stage, with the first match scheduled for July 26. That is the same date as Arsenal had been planning to face Atlético Madrid as part of an international tournament in Singapore that also includes Paris St-Germain. There is no Emirates Cup competition this year but potentially five further Europa League qualifying dates on Aug 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Arsenal were already certain to rest players from the Singapore competition because of what has always been Wenger’s desire for them to have at least three completely clear weeks of rest during the summer.
The World Cup stretches between June 14 and July 15 and, while players such as Aaron Ramsey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will not be involved, many other key Arsenal personnel will be.
Arsenal have been planning to confirm their participation in Singapore shortly and still know that they can avoid this scenario by either winning the Europa League – in which case they would return to the Champions League – or by finishing fifth or sixth in the Premier League to go straight into the Europa League groups.
Although Wenger is now clearly prioritising the club’s Europa League semi-final against Atlético Madrid, the prospect of qualifying rounds does ensure that there is still plenty of incentive to ensure that they do not fall behind Burnley.
Arsenal had never finished outside the top four under Wenger until last season, when they were fifth but did win the FA Cup, and are facing a comparable situation this year given their ongoing Europa League participation.
No decision has yet been made on whether Wenger will continue as manager for what is the final year of his contract next season, but the pressure for change will become intense if they do not now win the Europa League.
The club’s board have not yet made a decision and, while performances and the failure again to mount a Premier League title challenge will be of greatest concern, the general apathy of supporters will also be considered.
Recent home Premier League games have been notable for the large numbers of empty seats and, while that is partly explained by how relatively little there is to play for in the league, directors will be anxious to see those fans return.
Familiar defensive frailties were again exposed on Sunday by Newcastle and Arsenal are prioritising the centre-back position in their summer recruitment.
Per Mertesacker retires at the end of the season but Laurent Koscielny has been struggling for several years now with Achilles tendon pain and there are ongoing doubts about the quality of Shkodran Mustafi.
Former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic believes that there was a lack of communication between the defensive players in the Newcastle defeat. “They are watching the ball and not reacting,” he said. “There are six players against three and there is no communication about who is going to go and attack the ball, who is going to cover.”
