Arsenal: Europa League is only good in the past tense

Arsene Wenger admitted that the Europa League has been good for the younger players in the Arsenal squad. While that may be true, it must be kept in the past.

This season was the first time that Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League under Arsene Wenger’s guidance. That meant that they entered the Europa League, and while they have played in the competition with Wenger before, having dropped from the Champions League earlier in the campaign, never had they had such an extended run involving the group stages.

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Clearly, there was disappointment surrounding the club when it was realised that they would not be competing in the Champions League. It is Europe’s elite competition. But that does not mean that this season’s Europa League campaign, thus far, has not been beneficial.

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When asked about the virtues of the competition, without fully extolling them, Wenger admitted that the opportunity to field several youngsters and provide them with precious senior game time has been useful, both in terms of their individual development and the inner-squad competition for Premier League places:

"“It has been very useful, but as well they have shown me that they have the quality to compete. I think this competition has allowed them to gain confidence, to show the other players in the squad that these boys have the needed quality and they can put them under threat. Internal competition has raised as well the threat for everybody because the young players have always done well.”"

Wenger certainly is right. The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson have all benefitted from European experience, something that would have been extremely unlikely had Arsenal been featuring in the Champions League this season. However, that alone does not vindicate the Europa League campaign.

Next season, for instance, there will be no one wanting a Europa League campaign rather than Champions League endeavours because of the greater opportunities that it may provide the younger members of the squad. That is just illogical.

Simply put, the playing time that Wenger is able to give the younger players in his squad is not reason enough to suddenly want the Europa League. It is merely a positive consequence of a bad situation. A silver lining of a rather grey, brooding cloud that does not look all that friendly.

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Arsenal should be doing everything they can to make the Europa League a one-season event. I am sure they are doing. They are a competitive organisation that wants to win and compete at the highest level, even if their financial interests sometimes compromise that. As such, while Wenger is free to admit that this year has carried some utilities, he should know that the Europa League should be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure that it will be.