Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that they need to finish in the Premier League top three in order to attract new players to the club, reports the Daily Express.
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The Gunners play Manchester United on Sunday, with the winner going in to third place, although the North London club will have a game in hand afterwards. Although both sides are all but confirmed to be in the top four, whoever finishes in fourth will have to play a qualifying tie to get in to the Champions League, while those above go straight in to the group stages.
Were Arsenal to finish outside of the top three Wenger believes that potential signings would think twice before signing for the London outfit. This season it wasn’t confirmed that the Gunners were in the Champions League proper until August 27 and a nervy 1-0 win against Besiktas over two legs.
This leaves only a short period of time for the North London side to sign players with the draw of Europe’s premier club competition. Wenger said: “Its very important [we avoid a Champions League qualifier]. Not to have that stress over your head from the first day when you start again is vital.
“It (finishing fourth) can make it more difficult to bring players in. They think most of the time that you will play in the Champions League but you are not sure. We have to convince them by saying that statistically we have always progressed.”