Unai Emery Insists Players Will Still Want to Join Arsenal Despite No Champions League Football

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has claimed that the club can still attract high-quality players for next season despite missing out on the Champions League. The

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has claimed that the club can still attract high-quality players for next season despite missing out on the Champions League.

The Gunners were thrashed 4-1 by London rivals Chelsea in the Europa League final on Wednesday evening in Baku, after a disastrous second half.

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The result meant that Arsenal will play in the Europa League next season for the third consecutive year, but the Spaniard wasn't overly concerned by the implications of Wednesday's result on their chances of recruiting top players next season.

"I think we are a big team and I think Arsenal are a big name in the football world," Emery said in his post match press conference, as quoted by Football.London.

"A lot of players want to play here. We are in one process and we need to be strong in our way.

Still in shock about that second half, so disappointing!! Same old same old.#feelforthefans

— David Seaman MBE ~ SafeHands (@thedavidseaman) May 29, 2019

“The idea at the start was to get more competitive like a team, get closer to the other teams and we did that. It is not enough yet, but next season we have to continue in our mind.

"We have a lot of players with the possibility to improve. We have a lot of young players. I think we are calm and I am positive for our future."

Following a cagey first period in Baku, former striker Olivier Giroud headed Chelsea ahead just after the break, before Pedro and an Eden Hazard penalty put the game beyond the Gunners as they started to collapse.

Alex Iwobi pulled one back for the north London club, before Hazard's second sealed Arsenal's fate, as their 25-year wait for a European trophy continues.

Emery, who has won the Europa League three times as a manager, admitted that his team deserved to lose, stating: “Congratulations to Chelsea, they were better than us.

Another season without Champions League football beckons for Arsenal. Problem wasn't Wenger. Problem is not Emery. Problem is with the ownership.

— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) May 29, 2019

"In the first half they didn’t have many chances, we wanted to do the same in the second half - take our moment - but they scored first and it was very important.

“You need to play with calm. They used their chances, we had the possibility to be in the match, but then it was too difficult."