Champions League exit won’t harm contract talks: Wenger
london — Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Tuesday said that failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League would not jeopardise contract negotiations with players.
Arsenal’s hopes of a top four Premier League finish and a spot in Europe’s elite competition depend on the teams above them slipping up during the final stages of the season.
Sixth-placed Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday left them six points behind Manchester city, albeit with a game in hand. If Arsenal stay out of the top four, it would be the first time the London club has failed to qualify for the Champions League in more than two decades under Wenger.
“Maybe, it can impact if in a longer spell you are not in there. But at the moment we are not in that mode,” Wenger told reporters.
“Because we are in a strong financial position. The weight of a Champions League place is less big than it was in previous years. Negotiations-wise (for players) it will not have a huge impact.”
Wenger expressed regret that he had been unable to give striker Lucas Perez more games. Perez has scored eight times in 21 appearances for Arsenal since joining in August. “He is a top quality striker, I couldn’t give him the games he wants and deserves and I feel sorry for him,” Wenger said.
“Don’t take anything away from his quality. I would love to (keep him) if I am the manager but we have to sit down together and see if he has a reasonably chance to play or not.”
Defender Laurent Koscielny and midfielder Granit Xhaka are set to face late fitness tests before the trip to St. Mary’s as they recover from recurring minor injuries.
Meanwhile, Arsenal know they need a big slice of luck to finish in the Premier League top four but midfielder Granit Xhaka says the London club have not given up the chase.
Arsenal, who beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday, will need fourth-placed Manchester City (69 points, 35 games) or third-placed Liverpool (70 points, 36 games) to slip up in their remaining games if they are to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
They are currently sixth with 63 points from 34 games and can close the gap with a win at Southampton on Wednesday. Xhaka, who scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s win over United, said no one had given up hope. “We always have hope — hope dies last,” Xhaka told British media. “It’s up to us, we need some luck along the way, but if we win the next four games, I’m convinced that we can do it.
“This is a phase where we have to win every game, which we know... If we do that, I’m convinced that we can achieve what we want.” Xhaka has collected eight yellow cards and one red in his last 15 appearances for the club but the Swiss international said he had no intention of holding back.
“In football you get criticised if you are sent off. It’s my style of play and nobody can make me change that,” he added. “But you become cleverer, maybe look more and since my last red card, I think things have improved.” —