As Liverpool trudged off the Emirates turf on Saturday it appeared that their quest to finish in the top-four was over and hopes of attracting big names to Anfield in the summer now prove tougher as a result, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, Mail Online reports.
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On the back of a disappointing defeat by Manchester United just before the international break, the 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal leaves the Reds seven points off the top four ahead of Manchester City’s game at Crystal Palace on Easter Monday.
After a slow start to the season, a 13-game unbeaten run in the league gave the Merseyside renewed hope of gatecrashing the top-four, but those back-to-back defeats have severely dented those ambitions.
The Reds are by no means out of the running just yet, although they would need to win all their remaining seven games and hope for a slip-up from one of their rivals.
But Rodgers is already counting the costs if his club fail to make the Champions League next season:
“It makes it difficult, there’s no doubt about that.” he said to the Mail Online.
“Most players want to be in the Champions League. They want to play at the top level of the game and if you’re not in the Champions League it makes it difficult for you. We know that.”
“It’s going to be a little like this until we become more stable. We’ve got young players who are growing, getting more experience and then hopefully there will be a period where we qualify again. We want to be in the Champions League. That’s important and it is key for us.” the Northern Irishman added.