It won’t come as a surprise to Arsenal fans that next season’s campaign may be heavily affected by the success or failure of both the chase for a Premiership 4th place and the Europa League campaigns.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the Emirates bean counters already have their budgets in place for both eventualities.
Plan A:
Is probably based on Arsenal winning the Europa League or securing a qualifying spot by finishing 4th in the PL. In the event, additional funds will be made available to complement the planned transfer funds.
It will also include a percentage of any sales revenue that the club manages to bank in the summer.
Plan B:
Is based on failing to qualify for the Champions League or winning the Europa League, which will see the club work on a smaller transfer budget and the need to sell off its surplus squad players.
It will also see a greater reliance on academy players that Unai Emery feels are ready to take the final step to the first team.
Maitland-Niles and Iwobi are already established to a degree but this plan could see the inclusion and continuing development of Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Cohen Bramall, Joe Willock, Bukaya Sako and Ben Sheaf.
Of course, should all go well, with Arsenal using plan A, it’s still possible to introduce some of the youngsters as they have already done so far. Whatever way it goes, under Unai Emery, there is a genuine optimism and excitement about the next few years ahead.
