Senior management at Arsenal expect Unai Emery to deliver a top four finish this season after backing him in the transfer market in the summer.
That was the message from Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanhelli to a fans’ forum last week, and the implications for the Spanish manager are clear – if you fail to qualify for Champions’ League football next season, don’t expect to keep your job.
The Gunners had a top four finish in their grasp last season, but let it slip with a poor run of results which saw them accumulate just 8 points from the last 21 available. They then blew their other chance of getting into the Champions League by going down to a heavy defeat to Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku.
However, after buying Nicolas Pépé for a record £72 million, and bringing in the likes of Kiernan Tierney, David Luiz, Gabriel Marinelli, and Dani Ceballos on loan, the club feel there are no excuses for Emery this time.
