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3 benefits of Arsenal returning to the Europa League next season
By Adam Schultz
Arsenal finished the 2021/22 season in fifth place and returned to the Europa League after a two-year absence. Despite sometimes being looked down upon, the competition offers its fair share of benefits.
Arsenal are back in Europe for the first time in what feels like forever. While it’s not the competition we wanted, the Europa League still has its perks.
After consecutive eighth-placed finishes and missing out on Europe, the Gunners managed to lift themselves into fifth by the season’s end. Champions League was a distinct possibility at one stage, but we all know how that turned out.
3 benefits of Arsenal playing Europa League football next season
Many have laughed off Arsenal competing in the Europa League next season as often it is looked at as a second-rate competition. Still, it is far from that, and it offers players yet another competition on the continental stage to showcase their talents.
Here are three benefits of the Gunners competing in the Europa League next season.
1. More playing time for squad players
This is the obvious one. Last season, we saw William Saliba loaned out specifically because Arsenal did not have enough games to play. Once a week in the league was not enough, given that the club was knocked out of the FA by the Premier League-bound Nottingham Forest.
While players like Saliba, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Rob Holding will see more game time, it also provides opportunities for some of the club’s academy players to get valuable exposure to first-team football.
https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1473407318565928963?s=20&t=zetNgxHYJV9QbYWm06RbBg
Players like Arthur Okonkwo, Charlie Patino, Catalin Cirjan, Ben Cottrell, Omari Hutchinson, Miguel Azeez, and Marcelo Flores could benefit from seeing minutes at different stages of the season. We saw Cottrell and Patino get minutes in the domestic cups last season, and add in an extra competition; they could be seeing more game time in 2022.
It might also be valuable to players returning from loan to the club. Should they not be sold, there could be an opportunity for the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson, and Folarin Balogun. Not to mention Saliba.
Arsenal will be expected to make it past the group stage without too much fuss, so chances are we could see some of our best young talents get to strut their stuff next season.
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