Money may be the biggest motivating factor behind a lot of moves, but it’s pretty common to see players who demand Champions League football when making the step up.
It would make sense for someone like Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli as he’s shown he belongs at the top level at Euro 2020, so he should also be looking to test himself in the biggest club competition if and when he leaves Sassuolo.
That’s a major problem for Arsenal, and it sounds like any chance they had of signing him is now dead:
Sky Italia reports that Manuel Locatelli wants to play Champions League football, therefore the chances of him joining Arsenal are very low. He wants only Juventus.
— Maxi (@MaaxiAngelo) July 2, 2021
It’s an issue that Mikel Arteta’s side are going to run into fairly often in the transfer market as there are other clubs who can offer much bigger wages and they can also offer UCL football straight away.
It means they need to try and sign players like this before their stock rises with great performances on the biggest stage, and their hunt for a new midfielder will go on.
This argument doesn’t make sense. Arsenal pays some of the very high wages and that’s just the reason some of their senior players aren’t attractive to ther clubs because those clubs can’t march their wage demands.
The question of not playing UCL is just 1 year in 25. So all these excuses are baseless.
Arsenal can still attract some of the best players if the administration chooses to have them.