Craig Burley and Don Hutchison have backed Arsenal to get Champions League football next season, alongside Tottenham, if they secure the signings of Gabriel Jesus and Raphinha this summer, as they told ESPN.
Whilst ex-Chelsea man Burley thinks it will be ‘at best fourth’ for the Gunners, Hutchison told US TV that he thinks Arsenal can get third because he doesn’t know where Thomas Tuchel’s side are at and he feels Manchester Untied will struggle.
It seems as though Arsenal have Jesus through their doors, he was seen hugging the club’s technical director, Edu Gaspar, on Tuesday ahead of his transfer from Manchester City.
But, the less said of Leeds United winger, Raphinha, with Chelsea seemingly being close to agreeing a £55 million deal for the player, however, he is yet to decide where he will go.
Either way, after missing out on Champions League football last term, those at the Emirates are doing the talking during this transfer window in order to make better of what happened towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
“At best fourth,” said Burley on where Arsenal will finish with Jesus and Raphinha. “It depends what Manchester United do in the transfer window. But I am going to say fourth.”
Hutchison added: “I will go one higher. I would say third. I just don’t know where Chelsea are going to be. There are too many defenders going out of the door. There are too many players where you think ‘they just need to move on’.
“What’s the state of the club? Is Thomas Tuchel bringing players in? I am not sure where they are going to be at. I haven’t got Manchester United finishing top four. It could be a scenario where Arsenal and Spurs get top four.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL OR NOTHING FOR ARTETA
The soon-to-be-released Arsenal All or Nothing documentary is going to be of interesting viewing because the Gunners endured a dramatic campaign last time out.
But the 2021/22 Premier League season was nothing for Arsenal because they failed to secure Champions League football.
Whilst there isn’t so much noise to get Arteta out from the fans, they won’t be so kind to him if the same scenario repeats itself for the 22/23 season.
It’s Champions League football or nothing for the former Manchester City coach, who was heavily backed last summer and the same is happening again.
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