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Arsenal would get embarrassed in the Champions League – Wright
The Gunners still have two possible route to elite European competition, but a former striker believes they are a long way short of the required level
Arsenal have been warned Champions League qualification could be “embarrassing” for the club, with Ian Wright of the opinion that they are a long way short of the level required to compete with the elite.
Two possible routes to European football’s top table remain open to the Gunners.
An unfortunate wobble has dented their bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League, but they are still in contention.
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Unai Emery’s side are also through to the semi-finals of the Europa League, where they will face Valencia, and the winners of that trophy will drop into the Champions League.
After two years away from the brightest of continental spotlights, Arsenal are desperate to return to such a stage.
Wright, though, fears what could happen if serious improvement is not made in north London over a short period of time.
The former Gunners striker said on his personal YouTube channel : "I want to make sure that this manager is given time to make that team right.
"In the summer he'll need to make some serious additions.
"But right now, mainly through the fault of other teams, we're unexpectedly in a position where we could actually qualify for the Champions League.
"But then I start to think to myself 'how much do I really even want us to be in it?'
"With the way the team's playing at the moment and the lack of money he's going to have to spend...
"It's worrying how embarrassing it could become if we get there and we keep playing the way we are."
A 3-0 defeat away at Leicester has kept Arsenal fifth in the Premier League table, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles seeing red for the Gunners at the King Power Stadium on another miserable afternoon away from home for a travel sick side.
“I felt sorry for Ainsley, because if I am going to be totally honest, I think [James] Maddison cheated, in that little scenario there,” Wright added.
“Ainsley didn’t lunge at him, he came at the side. He didn’t actually touch him.
“People saying to me on Twitter that he lunged and he got what he deserved for lunging.
“He didn’t lunge, because Maddison weren’t in front of him, he was at the side of him, to the point where, Ainsley didn’t actually touch him.
“So, Maddison used the experience of that and got us down to 10 men.
“And I don’t think even with 11 men we would have made too much of a difference because we played so poorly.”
