Tottenham Hotspur will play in the Europa League this season.
Former Arsenal attacker Paul Merson has suggested in The Daily Star that the Tottenham Hotspur board want to win the Europa League this season.
The winners of the Europa League this season will get to feature in the 2017-18 Champions League campaign.
Spurs have qualified for the round of 32 of the competition after finishing third in Champions League Group E.
The North London outfit got the better of CSKA Moscow 3-1 at the Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday evening.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino played a strong team against CSKA, with Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen, Dele All and Harry Kane all starting.
Former Arsenal attacker Merson has speculated that Pochettino was told to play the strongest available team by the Tottenham board.
“It’s an easier route back to the Champions League,” Merson wrote in The Daily Star. “I’m not surprised they played such a strong team against CSKA Moscow.
“They had to make sure they gave themselves another chance of getting back into the Champions League.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the board pulled the manager in and told him he had to win that game.”
The Europa League is a very competitive and tricky competition, and is arguably more difficult to win than the Champions League is.
Tottenham will not find it easy to juggle Premier League matches and Europa League fixtures, but the North London outfit should take the European competition seriously.
Spurs will take on Manchester United away from home at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
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