Mikel Arteta might not have achieved taking Arsenal to the UEFA Champions League as he finished fifth in the Premier League behind north London rivals Tottenham. They will be playing in the UEFA Europa League alongside Manchester United. For a long time, it looked like the Gunners were going to end their five years wait outside the UCL but costly defeats to Newcastle and Tottenham at the end of the season meant that it was Spurs who would compete in the UCL at the end. Fans definitely feel let down as they had already entertained the thought of seeing their side battle it out with Europe's best. Arsenal will now be competing in European competition but the question is, are they ready?

The Arsenal boss now has a small senior squad to work with considering that he has let go of some notable names amongst them Aubameyang. Even if the Gunners would have made it to the UCL, the competition would have placed a lot of demands more than a ‘shallow’ Arsenal team could deliver. A few additions are expected to be made in the coming transfer window though. Arteta would have had little chance of rotating his current squad in the Champions League given the high-class nature of the opposition in this kind of competition. Mikel Arteta, however, will be allowed a bit more flexibility in the Europa League given that most teams in that competition are not of very high quality. 

The Arsenal boss could give some game time to youngsters as they pursue their way to the final of the competition. William Saliba could be a major beneficiary, as the competition will give him a good opportunity to get regular game time if Arteta goes with Ben White and Gabriel Maghales as his first-choice center-backs in the Premier League. For a fact, Arsenal stand a good chance of winning the Europa League. It is rumored that internally, the main aim of Arsenal was to ensure that they secure qualifications to Europe's second-tier competition following their back-to-back eight place finishes in the previous two seasons. Qualifying for the Champions League, therefore, would have been a huge and big boost but it would have come as a surprise to the Gunners. But with a steadily improving Arsenal side, one can be confident to say that they will for sure withstand competition and finish in the top four of next season's Premier League and it might even surprise many to be in the top teams.