No hangover next season if Arsenal miss out on Champions League – Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta is confident Arsenal will not suffer a hangover next season if they miss out on Champions League qualification this weekend.

The Gunners host Everton on Sunday knowing even an emphatic victory may not be enough to clinch fourth spot in the Premier League if rivals Tottenham claim the point they require away to already-relegated Norwich.

Arsenal appeared in the driving seat following key wins over Chelsea and Manchester United last month but back-to-back defeats to Spurs and Newcastle mean they look set to settle for fifth in the table.

It would still represent progress following consecutive eighth-place finishes, but a warning for the north London outfit would be what happened after Unai Emery’s side missed out on the top four by a point in 2019. Within six months of the next season, the Spaniard had lost his job but the current manager at the Emirates does not expect similar to happen.

“I don’t think it will,” Arteta said. “I think as well, that squad was very, very different to the squad we have now in many senses.

“It will be (a missed opportunity) for sure because we were there and mathematically it was possible and in our hands. That feeling could be there if it happens and it will take some time to take away that – but that’s part of football.

“You cannot take notice of what happened a week or two weeks ago whether it was positive or negative because it is not going to have an impact on anything.”

If Arsenal do get pipped to fourth position by Tottenham, as expected, next season could be even more competitive with Erik Ten Hag the new man at Manchester United, while Newcastle will have plenty of money to spend after they beat the drop.

The likes of Wolves, Leicester, Everton and Aston Villa will all be