Arsenal’s Head of Football Raul Sanllehi has revealed the the Gunners’ board has informed Unai Emery that they expect him to guide the club into the Champions League this year.
The north London side failed to qualify for Europe’s biggest club competition last term despite rivals Tottenham going on a torrid run of form during that last few months of the season, as well as them reaching the final of the Europa League.
Emery’s side ended up finishing one-point behind Spurs, who finished fourth, with Spaniard Emery having to settle for a Europa League qualification place during his first year in charge at the Emirates.
However now, it seems like Arsenal aren’t going to settle for anything similar this year if Sanllehi’s words are anything to go off.
The new Arsenal Head of Football was speaking about Emery and the Champions League at a fan’s forum recently, as he stated that the club’s board expect the former PSG boss to seal Champions League qualification this year given that their squad is much better compared to last year.
Raul : ‘We said to Unai that we just missed out on qualifying for the CL last year, but this year with a stronger squad, we expect you to do that’
— REDaction Gooners (@REDactionAFC) October 10, 2019
Given this, it now definitely seems like Emery is under immense pressure to finish inside the PL top four, or win the Europa League, this term in order to meet the club’s expectations.
Should Emery fail to do this, it’ll be interesting to see what Arsenal decide to do with Emery in regards to his future with the club, and whether they decide missing out on the Champions League again, should it happen, is enough to relieve the Spaniard of his duties.