Wojciech Szczesny has labelled Arsenal's failure to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League as "really disappointing", but the former goalkeeper has backed Mikel Arteta to take the club back to the Champions League.
The Gunners missed out on a top-four finish to Tottenham after costly defeats to their north London rivals and Newcastle United in the final weeks of the season. Arteta paid the price for not having enough firepower up front, having allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave for Barcelona on a free transfer, only to fail to sign a replacement in time.
At one stage, the north London club were some distance clear of Spurs, but a hat-trick of consecutive losses at the hands of Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton allowed Antonio Conte's side to bridge the gap. It means Arteta's men will play Europa League football next season, which at least represents some progress from the Spaniard's first two seasons when they finished eighth.
Szczesny came through the club's academy and made 181 appearances for the club, before a two-year loan spell at Roma in 2015 was followed by a free transfer move to Juventus in 2017. The Pole still keeps a close eye on his former club, though, and believes Arteta will steer them back to Europe's top tier competition in the next "couple of years"
“As a fan, it was really disappointing. They gave it a good go and nobody would have said before the season started that they had a chance,” Szczesny said.
“They were still in it with two games of the season left. It’s disappointing but they have actually done a good job this year. I can see Mikel’s idea of football, he has a young team so they will be all right. Another couple of years and they will be back in the Champions League.”
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Arteta may be hoping to get to the holy grail somewhat sooner after agonisingly missing out on the elusive Champions League, with Arsenal's last Champions League campaign coming back in 2016-17. Since then, the Gunners have been left with Europa League football under Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Arteta, reaching the final in 2019 before a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in Baku.
The Spanish head coach is set to spend again this summer in order to fully equip his squad for another top-four fight, with a striker top of the 39-year-old's priorities. The Arsenal boss is also keen to add a new right-back and central midfielder to his squad, but could be left disappointed in his attempts to bolster his squad, having admitted resources are tighter than first thought.
“We are going to have certain resources, not unlimited resources, some resources,” he said, having spent £150m last summer. “And with our resources, we have to play and do what we have to do in the best possible way.”
