‘That’s very difficult’ – Arsenal warned to brace themselves for exodus | OneFootball

Former footballer Noel Whelan has warned Arsenal that they could be in for a rocky summer transfer window, with doubts over their ability to keep their best players, and serious doubts on who they will attract also.

The Gunners have all-but sealed a year without European football for the new campaign, with a minor miracle needed to climb into the top seven with few matches remaining in the Premier League.

We had been pinning our hopes on winning the Europa League, but those hopes were dashed when we were unable to overcome Villarreal on Thursday night.

The former Leeds forward now believes that the Gunners will struggle to keep their best players at the club for the new season, and despite needing a big overhaul, he is expecting them to struggle to attract the level of player needed.

When asked if Arsenal could struggle to keep their better players, Whelan told the Football Insider: “Yeah. Absolutely. Top players play in top competitions and they’re not in it.

“Getting in Europe was probably their bargaining tool to try and keep these big stars at a club. It’s not there so they’re gonna have a massive job to keep these big star players happy.

“That’s very difficult because these players want to be playing in top competitions. They deserve to be playing in top competitions. This season they’ve shown that they’re absolutely way off representing Arsenal in the Champions League.

“They need a really serious overhaul there and adding some quality. They’re not going to get that now because they’re not going to tempt these players to Arsenal.”

Do fans need to brace themselves for a tricky summer window? Could we be forced to concentrate on youth further in the new season?

Patrick