Arsenal face Napoli in the quarterfinals of the Europa league and one could be forgiven for thinking that a trophy is top of Unai Emery’s wish list.
It isn’t, Emery’s priority is the 4th place slot in the Premier League, although he wouldn’t be adverse to picking up silverware, the Europa cup specialist already has one eye on the summer transfer window and the other on next season’s campaign.
His objectives of recruitment and rebuilding rely heavily on the funds generated by the Champions league with funds seemingly in short supply.
It’s rumoured that Emery is looking to bring in two or three players, with a significant amount of existing personnel going in the opposite direction.
Once again, depending on what comes in from sales, will help determine who and how many arrivals come to the Emirates. In the meantime, if Emery got to the Europa League semi-finals and secured 4th slot or higher, it will be seen as a solid season.
Some fans may argue with that, the fluffy self-centered tossers that only tolerate success but they’ve been apparent on and off all season through the peaks and troughs.
Those that have derided the Spanish coach’s efforts fail to see the complexity of the problems he inherited and it may be a while longer before Arsenal hit their groove.
All in all, so far at least, the coach has fulfilled the expectations of the majority of fans as he seeks to re-establish the club on the domestic and European stages.
